When Worlds Collide
by muddledthoughts
Summary: Hinata gets taken to Soul Society. Learns of the shinigami ways and vows to help defeat Aizen. OC's and some NarutoBleach cast mix. Constructive Criticism welcome. R&R! Hope you all like it!
1. Chance Encounters

**Disclaimer**: I Don't Own Anything Having To Do With Naruto and Bleach, but I do have a really cool Naruto calendar!

Yo! This is my version of Naruto and Bleach with a few twists and tweaks!

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Running that's what she was doing. Running from what only she knew, but if one looked close enough they could see she was running out of fear. What she was afraid of seemed invisible to the naked eye but it was as clear as day to her.

'It's getting closer! It's getting closer! Why is it chasing me? WHY!' She shrieked in her mind completely panicked. Her lungs were burning with the effort of her running as she huffed and puffed in her haste.

Obviously it would appear that she is being chased by some kind of monster. Now most would call her childish and foolish because there's no such thing as monsters. But that's only to those who can't see them or feel their presence.

'What the hell is that thing? Why do they always come after me?' She contemplated on this as she ran. 'But it'll go away again like they always do right?'

Apparently this happens frequently and what a shame it is, considering most people would question her sanity if she told them about it. They'd probably come up with a few choice words and phrases on the matter, but that's neither here nor there. Right now though it's about time that the hero makes their debut.

'Alright, now where's that… THERE IT IS!' A seemingly young man with green eyes and shoulder-length spiky black hair with red streaks dressed in a black battle kimono thought to himself as he spotted the young pale-eyed girl running for her life away from the beast.

He was perched on a tree branch searching for his target when he saw it running after a defenseless kid. Unsheathing his katana and jumping down he headed straight for the monster.

Landing between the little girl and the creature he held his sword out in front of him while standing in a battle-ready stance. He stood confident with a glare promising death should it try and get passed him.

"Hey you! What the hell is your fucking problem hunting down a child? Leave her alone! Your fight's with me!" he declared in all seriousness

With a deafening roar the monster ran straight at him with startling speed. Not expecting it to be so fast due to its massive size the young man barely blocked the incoming attack. The power behind the strike made him skid back quite a few feet.

'Okay, so it's fast and strong. Damn this could get ugly, better keep an eye on the girl. Who knows how smart this thing is.' He thought as he parried another one of the beast's vicious blows.

The fighting intensified between the two as their speed picked up. Ducking its claws the red head slashed back at its arm with his blade. Cutting its flesh successfully the blood streamed out from the wound as it let loose a monstrous howl. The beast eyed him with pure malice due to the pain he caused. Then it turned its head to stare at the frightened child with hungry eyes.

'Oh yes, I can see it now. After I destroy him I'll devour that girl. I bet she tastes delicious.' It thought with malevolent glee. 'But first, to do away with this annoying pest.'

"Hey! Pay attention you bastard!" he shouted out to his opponent, "You should worry about me because I'm going to kill you before you get the chance to hurt her!"

"You seem very talkative boy. Allow me to shut you up!" it retorted in a dangerously deep voice

"Oh? So you do talk? Amazing! I thought all you did was roar like some mindless ape." he taunted right back causing the beast to growl at him

'It'll be so satisfying to shut his big mouth up.' With that in mind it charged him at an even faster pace.

In what could only be considered break neck speed it unleashed an overwhelming barrage of attacks. Clawing at him with a furious pace the man could barely keep up, only having enough time to block rather than dodge. Then the monster did something unexpected.

Noticing now that the boy seemed too focused on his own defense more than protecting the kid it left her wide open for attack. Without a second of hesitation it changed course and went after the girl swiftly.

She watched frozen in fear with wide eyes as that thing came in for the kill. The young man looked surprised as well but without another moment to lose he sped off to save her.

It looked like everything was going in slow motion as the beast made its final approach and the fighter hot on its tail trying to stop it. Then she shut her eyes as she felt like it was all over for her, waiting for the killing blow that was sure to come. But it never came, slowly opening one eye and then the other she saw him with his back turned to her trembling.

"Don't worry little one, you're safe." he choked out as he held the beast at bay

When she heard that she carefully looked to see what had happened. She saw him bleeding profusely from a large wound to his stomach where the monster had sunk its claw in an attempt to get her. He had taken the hit for her while he held back its other claw with his bare hands.

The beast simply forced its claw deeper into his wound causing him to cough out more blood. Through all the immense pain he forced the monster back and removed its claw from his body.

"It looks like I'm gonna have to get serious now." he managed to get out in a dry heave

Grabbing his sword he mumbled something under his breath and the blade began to glow an azure color. It looked like green flames surrounded it and the energy flowing from it was enormous. His green eyes began to shimmer from the energy pumping through him. The girl felt small and weak due to the power coming from the young man.

"Don't be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you, I'll save you. I promise." He turned to her with a heart warming reassuring smile to show he would protect her at all costs.

Looking back at his enemy his eyes changed from warm to cold instantly. Then without any warning he zoomed toward his target with unbelievable speed and determination. The monster didn't stand a chance against this foe and before it realized what was happening the guy disappeared from view, only to reappear above his head.

With one swift downward arc, he slashed the beast right down the middle of its head to the ground and jumped back to watch it fade away. After defeating his enemy he collapsed to one knee while using his sword as a staff to keep him balanced.

The little girl got up and ran to her savior to help him and thank him for protecting her. Helping him to lie down on his back she watched as his breathing came in quick pants while he fought to stay conscious. Quietly thanking him she immediately got to the task of nursing him back to health.

Wiping his blood away as it poured out of the wound she tore the bottom half of her shirt away to use in helping her slow his bleeding down; once she did that she tore off some of her pant leg to use it to wrap up the wound. Until she could get the necessary items to clean and properly treat his wound all she could do was stop the bleeding and wrap him up.

Then she ran off into the woods to get some firewood and herbs since she knew she couldn't carry him back with her to civilization. Knowing it was going to be a long night she did the best she could to make a fire and a makeshift hut to shelter them for the time being. Determined to save him she vowed to watch over him the entire time until he got better.

Throughout the night she treated his wounds with the medicinal herbs she found and did her best to keep him warm. She watched him intently the whole time and while she did she began to wonder about him and that monster.

'Will he be okay? Who is he? What was that thing? Why'd he save me? What kind of power was that? Would he tell me when he wakes up?' Her mind was a muddled mass of questions as she stared at his youthful face, which seemed to be set in a grimace from his pain.

Her eyes wondered from his face to his sword which she grabbed knowing he would want it the moment he awoke. 'What in Kami's name was that power that came from it?' She pondered while eyeing the strange katana. For the rest of the night she was left awake to watch over her protector while she dealt with her thoughts.

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In the morning the young man woke up to see that he was inside a small hut of twigs while lying wrapped in a small jacket. Then he looked over to his right to see the little girl from the previous night asleep leaning against one of the hut walls. He saw that she was exhausted and, from the looks of the recently put out fire, that she had stayed up all night watching over him.

He smiled at her and then attempted to sit up only to give up on that endeavor completely because of the pain that shot through his very core. That's when he saw his wound that was still healing. 'Not bad. For someone who didn't have anything to work with. She seemed to do a pretty decent job patching me up. I'll have to thank her when she wakes up.'

For the next two hours he worked at trying to at least sit up. Finally right before she woke up he was able to get up on his own and then he turned to stare at her.

"Top of the morning to ya! How'd you sleep?" he greeted her

"Y-you're… you're okay!" she exclaimed after getting over the shock of seeing him sitting up

"Wow the first thing you do is worry over me, that's real nice but I'm fine thanks to you. So good morning!" he tried greeting her again

"Oh! G-Good m-morning… um w-who are you i-if y-you don't m-mind m-me a-asking." she inquired, her stutter returning with a vengeance

"Ah! My name is Watanabe Daisuke, nice to meet ya lil missy!" he introduced himself, "So what's your name seeing as though it's courteous to give out one's name before learning another's."

With an indignant blush of embarrassment she answered him, "Gomen nasai! M-my name is H-Hyuga H-Hinata! N-Nice to m-meet you W-Watanabe-san."

"Hyuga Hinata, what a pretty name! It suits you! And please don't call me Watanabe-san, it makes me sound old! Daisuke will be just fine." he commented kindly

"A-Ano… W-Watana… I m-mean Daisuke-san, are you h-hungry, y-you feel any b-better?"

"Yeah! Never better! Just needed to sleep a night's work off is all, although I can say it still hurts to move around too much. And yes I'm starved!"

Once he said that Hinata went about trying to find them some food while Daisuke decided to go and meditate for a bit. It was to help the healing process along faster. After a few minutes he was feeling refreshed and chose to go help her gather food. He saw she was standing on the bank of a small river and next to her was a cloth full of berries she obviously picked. It appeared Hinata was trying to catch some fish and was having some trouble doing so.

"Hey let me do that. You've already done enough for me. At least I can show my gratitude by getting the fish."

After he caught their food they cooked it over an open fire while they ate that and the berries. Sharing small talk and light conversation during their meal, it eventually led to the topic that Hinata has been dying to learn about.

"Yosh! That was some good eatin'! You're a pretty good cook! I'm stuffed how 'bout you?" he asked her to which she responded with a shy nod, "Good! So uh… about last night… are ya okay?"

"H-hai! A-ano… h-how'd y-you k-know a-about t-that t-thing c-chashing m-me?"

"Oh! Because I saw it! Why'd you ask that?" he tilted his head to the side curiously

"B-because n-no one e-else ever s-saw them b-before. They all t-thought I w-was c-crazy." she whispered so quietly he had to strain his ears to hear her

"Well, I don't think you're crazy. They were definitely there. They only thought that because they couldn't see them like you can. So I take it this isn't the first time it's happened to ya, ne?" she nodded her head yes to confirm his suspicion, "Could ya just hold still for a sec, I just wanna check something out if ya don't mind? It won't take long, promise."

Shifting his vision a bit Daisuke looked at her silently for a moment studying her energy pattern. It seemed normal enough for your typical person. Then he altered his vision some more to study something else about her and that's when he saw it.

It made his eyes go as wide as saucers, there sitting before him was a child with red spirit ribbons and not just three or four but a huge number of them! There must've been at least 30 to 40 of them! With that mind blowing revelation everything seemed to fall into place.

It would explain why the hollows were chasing her so much. But it was more than obvious that she didn't understand any of this; she just thought they were monsters. How could she understand when even most priests and priestesses of her world didn't even know. No one here could teach her what she needed to learn, so he knew he'd have to do it and that's what he'd do.

"A-ano D-Daisuke-san? W-what's w-wrong?" came the nervous stutter

"Oh! Nothing's wrong it's just I think I figured out why that thing was chasing you around." he told her casually

"R-Really? C-could you tell me because I just don't get it." she said mostly without stuttering, although she was confused she started to feel more comfortable around him

"Sure thing! But first there's a few things you got to understand like what that 'thing' as you call it was and what makes you so special." with a slow nod to show her comprehension he continued, "That 'thing' is an evil spirit that devours other souls with high reiatsu or spirit energy, I'll explain more about that later. Where I come from we call that monster a hollow, there are classifications for them but at the moment that ain't important. So do ya kinda see why they chase ya?"

'Well he just answered most of my questions.' She thought before responding with a quiet affirmative. "So that 'hollow' was chasing me because I have a lot of reiatsu, right?" she asked to confirm the information

"Yep!" he said glad that she understood right away, "You're definitely one bright girl! You look a little curious about something, what's up?"

"Well… um why'd you save me and what kind of power was that with your sword?"

"You're just full of questions aren't you? Hehehe it's good that you're curious; well to answer the first question… I saved you because I wanted to and it was the right thing to do and it's my job. Besides that bastard hollow had it coming. And for the second question, that power was my reiatsu combining with my zanpakuto or soul slayer if you prefer."

"Eh? Your zanpakuto? What's that?"

"Oh, that's my sword! It's a special kind of katana that's actually my reiatsu in its physical form. Instead of it being just a typical sword, it has really cool special abilities like what you saw last night." he said proudly

"That's awesome. Ano… you said it's just your reiatsu in physical form right?" after receiving a nod she continued, "Does that mean I have one too? And if so how come I've never been able to use it?"

"Ah! I figured you'd ask me that next. Well not everyone has a zanpakuto even if they have a lot of reiatsu. It all depends on the type of abilities your spirit possesses and because of that people have different colored spirit ribbons. These ribbons show how much spirit energy a person has by how many they possess and the color of the ribbons determine the abilities of the person."

"Okay. So then I take it a specific color determines who gets a zanpakuto or something else, right?"

"Uh-huh, that's right. Red ribbons are for shinigami, like me, they get a zanpakuto and white ribbons are for your average human. If you have a bunch of white ribbons then that means that you can still fight hollows you just have to train hard enough to get enough control over your reiatsu to be able to use whatever spiritual abilities you have."

"So, when you were looking at me you were checking my spirit ribbons weren't you? What did you see?" she asked totally at ease with Daisuke

"Man you're one smart kid. Well yes I was looking and what I saw shocked the hell out of me. You've got a ton of reiatsu for one of your age and kind, even some shinigami don't have that much at your age. And I bet your wondering the color, right?" she nodded vigorously full of curiosity, "They're red, congrats kiddo! You've got shinigami abilities!"

Hinata's jaw dropped, sure she figured she might've had more than most normal people given that she could see hollows and they couldn't and even see a shinigami and converse with him, but to learn that she can be a shinigami too completely through the girl through a loop! It was an overwhelming tidbit of information to deal with.

"Shocked aren't you? I can tell, not many ryoka like yourself have that rare gift. Anyways I bet your dying to know how to be able to tap into that power. I could teach you but I'd have to take you with me to my world, the Soul Society, if you truly wanna learn. So what's it gonna be Hinata-chan?" he took on a serious tone

Thinking it over and realizing that she really, really, _**really**_ wanted to go and learn about this she was about to answer yes when another thought struck her. Beneath all of the seemingly endless curiosity was the worry of leaving her family behind, but as quickly as it came it left because she realized that her family didn't really care for her. Her cousin hated her, her father always called her weak and a lost cause, basically abandoning her to get by with her own devices and the rest of her clan could care less. So the decision became painfully easy and obvious to make.

"I'll go with you Daisuke-san." she said with steel resolve and determination

"Alright! This is gonna be so great! Just follow me and stay close okay?" with her confirmation they walked off further into the forest

Daisuke stood in front of an open field in the deep recesses of the forest and waited… and waited… and waited. Starting to get agitated with impatience he began tapping his foot with a huff until something happened.

A huge structure started to appear out of thin air and it took on the shape of large double doors. They opened to reveal a blinding white light and once they were fully opened Daisuke took her hand and led her in through the doors. This was the start of a new chapter in little Hinata's life and she couldn't wait to start her adventures.

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A/N: WOOT! Goodness gracious! I didn't know I had it in me to write so much, but this idea was just nagging me for the longest! Hope that you liked it so far, this is truly a first for me and I want to know what you guys think. So PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS! Whether they're good or bad I really want to know what you think. Ciao!


	2. Welcome to Your New Home

Stepping through the wide double-doors, Hinata was greeted with a surprising sight. There before her very eyes was a gigantic town bursting with what looked to be your average people.

Now that may not seem shocking to most, but to her it was because she totally expected something different. I mean wouldn't you if you were told by an otherworldly being that you'd be traveling with them to their home also known as the Soul Society? Especially if you've seen the same being kill off a beast that no one else can see.

The last thing anyone would expect to see is a completely normal looking scene. Well it looked normal until she saw a huge giant guarding a gate even bigger than he is.

"Halt! Who are you and what is your business here?" the goliath questioned

"I'm the fifth seat officer of Division 13, Watanabe Daisuke! Reporting in for duty!" he said and then added, "Let us through!"

"You may enter but that child with you may not! Kids aren't allowed inside of Seireitei! Take her back to Rukongai where she belongs!" it responded thinking she was just another ghostly apparition

Instead of arguing with him and causing a commotion, Daisuke just turned around and led Hinata away from the gate into the bustling city.

"Sorry about that. I forgot that only certified shinigami and academy students can go in. Well until I can get you in, you'll be staying with my little brother in District 75." he informed her

"Um… Daisuke-san?"

"Hm?"

"I thought that um… never mind."

"Ah, ah, ah! Hinata-imouto, you can't start something and then not finish it." he lightly chastised while wagging his finger at her

"Eh? Imouto?"

"Yes, imouto. You're like a little sister to me now, anyways don't go changing the subject. What is it you wanted to ask me?"

"Well niisan, I uh… thought that the Soul Society would be different."

"You mean full of souls right?"

"Yeah, but they all look like normal people to me."

"What makes you think they aren't ghosts, hmm?" he grinned while pinching her cheek affectionately

"Because they aren't, I don't know how to say it, ghostly looking I guess."

He laughed heartily at her confused expression before responding, "You don't have to look like a ghost just to be a ghost. Just because they don't look it doesn't mean they aren't imouto. As a matter of fact, every 'person' in Rukongai is really just a living spirit. This is where most people's souls come when they die. In fact they're all dead, so to speak." he explained to her

With wide eyes and a gaping mouth, she tried to reply only to sputter nonsensical things like, "But they aren't see-through and they don't float!"

"And they don't get hungry either and don't need as much as a living person does to survive, plus they hardly suffer here if ever." he expertly cut her off

Just standing in stunned silence, blinking up at her newfound niisan, she did her best to understand. Soaking it all in, the only thing she could think was… 'wow.' Now that, that conversation was through they headed over to his former home in District 75 because his younger brother still lived there.

While they made their way over, Hinata noticed how things started to change. Near the gate that separated Seireitei from Rukongai, everything was nice and had a peaceful and sunny atmosphere. Further away things started to look a little worse for ware. Although it was still crowded and busy it looked a little less welcoming and more dangerous here.

Feeling her discomfort, Daisuke did his best to calm her. "It's going to be alright imouto. You'll be in good hands here, I wouldn't leave you or my brother if I didn't know you'd be okay. I'll come check on you both as often as I can. I already do for my brother to make sure he's safe. I'll just do it for you too. When I'm not here I'll be trying to talk the bosses into getting you both into Seireitei with me. Until then, be careful." he told her comfortingly as they arrived before the house

"Okay, thanks niisan." she replied feeling a little better

"No problem. Well, we're here. It may not look like much but it's home." he announced while standing in front of the small shack-like house

Stepping up to the front door, Daisuke tapped it twice and waited for something to happen. Not even a split second later a young boy with short, black spiky hair with similar red streaks as Daisuke and green eyes opened the door and tackled him to the ground while yelling excitedly.

"Aniki! Aniki! You're back! Where have you been brother? Do you know those crazy adults have been messin' with me?" he garbled out quickly

"Whoa! Slow down there otouto; now one thing at a time. What did you say? Start over."

"(sigh) Well what I said was where were you and the older people were messin' with me." he pouted at him but grinned proudly at what he said next, "But I socked 'em all one good! They couldn't beat me! Ha!" he finished pointing at himself in pride

Ruffling his hair affectionately he smiled at his baby brother and said, "Way to go squirt! I'm all too happy to hear that but I got a surprise for you." he told him with a mischievous grin

"Really! What is it?"

"A new roomie. Well more like a new sister."

"Really! Where is she? Who is she? What she look like?" he called out excitedly

"Look to your left squirt."

Turning to see her, his eyes grew wide and seemed to sparkle with a childish light. With his ever-present smile he jumped up and hugged her. "So you're my new imouto? You look like an angel." he grinned at her

"Arigato." she said shyly with a blush and embarrassed laugh for the compliment

Chuckling at the duo, Daisuke stood up and dusted himself off. "Okay you two, let's get inside and talk." he ushered them into the house

"So to properly introduce you, otouto this is Hinata. Hinata-chan this Mitsurugi. He may seem like a six year old but he's actually older than you. He just likes to act immature because he thinks it's funny." Daisuke said

"And don't forget the girls think it's cute." he mentioned with a devilish grin

"That only works when I'm around baka. If not they find it weird and annoying. So you should try another tactic when dealing with the ladies." he advised him

"Yeah, well I've got another one." he said defensively

"Really and what's that?" he asked him teasingly

"It's the old Watanabe charm. You know they can't resist the good looks. Just flash 'em the grin and their legs turn into jelly." quoting his brother from a long time ago when he remembered all the dates he went on

'They're weird but in a really funny kind of way. I guess it really is kind of cute.' She thought with a giggle. "Ano, Daisuke-niisan how old are you? And you too Mitsurugi-niisan."

"Well, I'm 12 and aniki is 19. How old are you imouto?" Mitsurugi took the initiative to answer for both of them

"11."

"Pretty cool. You're more mature than Mitsurugi. Hahaha! You should call her big sister otouto because I have no doubt that she'll be actin' like it for you." he laughed at him causing Hinata to blush and Mitsurugi to frown, "Nah! But seriously, I'm gonna need you to be more mature now. You're in charge of lookin' out for her 'til I get ya both into Seireitei. You got me? You **HAVE** to be the mature older brother for her sake. She's obviously new around here and you gotta look after her. I'll be checkin' up on ya as often as I can to make sure you guys are okay. She's your responsibility, so you need to be serious." he told him sternly with a warning glare to emphasize how important this is

Mitsurugi got the message and knew he was going to have to grow up in order to take care of them both. He had to step it up here; it was now or never because he would be taking on Daisuke's role from now on. It was time for him to follow in his big brother's footsteps and prove himself. 'I will do this. I have to do this. I'm gonna make him proud. I'll show him how strong I can be.' He thought determinedly.

"Well, I'd love to stay and all but I have to be heading off now. I'll be back later, be good you two." Daisuke said before leaving

After he left Mitsurugi decided to get to know his 'little sister' better. "So what's your story imouto? Why'd you come here?"

"I wanted to know what it was like here and I want to get stronger. Plus, I really didn't have anywhere else to turn to." she ended a bit sadly

"What? What do you mean you had nowhere else to go? Why?"

"Back in my old home, I'd see those hollow things and they'd chase me. So I would go tell people and they wouldn't believe me and say I was crazy or that I was being childish. They would tell me there's no such thing as 'monsters' but I knew that I saw them. They couldn't see them so they thought I was weird and people began avoiding me. I was alone, but now I know that I'm not crazy or weird and I'm not alone anymore." she smiled sadly at him

'That's messed up. She didn't belong there, then. Now she's where she belongs and I'll make sure she's happy here. They didn't deserve her.' He thought before he said, " No you're not weird or crazy and definitely not alone anymore. Just stick with me and you'll have the time of your life!" he declared confidently, "Now let's get some shut eye, eh? We've got a lot ahead of us and we're gonna need the rest." he shooed her off to bed

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"Well you sure took a long time gettin' here." an officer of Daisuke's division spoke out to him

"Sorry. Mission took a little longer than normal and I had to check up on my little brother. How's Ukitake-taichou?" he responded

"He's okay, just resting. He was asking about you, so I think you should go see him. He should be in his quarters."

With a nod Daisuke went off in the direction of Ukitake's room. Knocking and then entering with a bow he reported in to his superior. "Ukitake-taichou, I've just returned from my mission. The hollow has been destroyed. You wished to see me sir?"

"Ah, Daisuke-san. I'm glad to know you're back and in good health. I wanted to speak to you about your brother. So how's little Mitsurugi?"

"He's fine sir. Ano… I need to speak to you about something extremely important, in private if you don't mind."

"No problem. Why don't we go to my office since it's more secluded." and with that they got up and left; once inside Ukitake put up a sealing spell for the utmost privacy, "So what's this important matter you wish to speak about?"

"It's about a young ryoka, sir."

"Oh? What about this ryoka."

"She can see hollows **and** me, sir. Her reiatsu is off the charts, especially for someone her age and kind." this information caught Ukitake's full attention immediately

"And what did you do about this girl?" he questioned seriously

"I brought her here sir." he replied in all honesty, "She's currently staying with my brother."

"What! Do you realize that is a class one forbidden act you've just committed? You could be arrested or worse, executed for something of this caliber! What were you thinking?" Ukitake exploded

"Please hear me out sir. This girl has special powers and enormous potential to be an amazing shinigami. It would be beneficial for her and us if she were brought here. And she had nowhere else to go." he told him, not backing down

"This isn't some kind of charity here! Daisuke, I'm only upset because of the risk you're putting yourself **and** that girl in. You must return her at once! We will not speak of this again." he ordered him sternly as he prepared to leave

Daisuke shook his head stubbornly and said, "I can not do that captain. I brought her here for her protection. Hollows were targeting this girl specifically and I don't know why. It irked me that they'd even be in a place that never once had hollows before and I just knew she'd be safer here than in her own world."

That effectively stopped Ukitake from leaving and snapped him back to the subject he just said was taboo. "They were targeting her specifically?" receiving an affirmative he asked, "You're sure it wasn't because she just happened to be there at the time?"

"I'm more than sure sir because a hollow wouldn't chase their target the way this one was chasing her. It was as if it were trying to lead her away from any kind of help. Also, her reiatsu would've attracted multiple hollows, not one. We were in range of more than just one to be able to sense it and they did not come to eat her. It was almost like it was planning on trapping her farther away from her village. So I did what I thought was best. Her people can't defend her, so I brought her here to be around those who could."

"So what? Are you just going to leave her in Rukongai? The district where we found you and your brother in isn't any safer than the living world. So what do you propose to do?"

"I want to get her into Seireitei alongside my brother."

"You're pushing it here; do you remember how hard it was for me to arrange that deal of getting your brother accepted in before the proper entry age?" he asked his subordinate who nodded yes in return, "Then you know that's not possible for me to pull off." he finished forlornly

"You could convince the council to allow it. Just say they're new recruits, since we need them anyways. Ever since Aizen practically declared war on us, we've been losing shinigami far quicker than expected. I'm sure if you approach it from that angle coupled with what I just told you, they'll allow it."

"That could work. But her being a ryoka will hinder things. She'll have to be very strong and knowledgeable of our ways and world if there's any chance for success. I want to see her first thing in the morning."

"Of course sir. Thank you so very much Ukitake-taichou."

"No problem. Though I can't guarantee anything, I'll do my best to get this to work. Now go, you have other duties to attend to." he told Daisuke as he left to get more rest because his illness was acting up

'Well the first half of the hard part is over. Now to try and convince the council.' Daisuke mused while leaving to complete his designated tasks.

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"Oi, imouto-chan. Wake up." Mitsurugi said softly whilst gently shaking her awake

"Hmm?" she mumbled sleepily while cutely rubbing her eyes

"Time to get up. We got a big day today."

"Okay" she said quietly while getting out of bed in a drowsy haze. As she went to get ready Mitsurugi went downstairs to wait for her. While he waited, he heard the familiar two taps on the front door and quickly ran to open it.

What he saw surprised him greatly; there standing before him was not just his aniki but the 13th Division captain as well. He was frozen from shock and didn't seem to know what to do, so he just stood there gaping like a fish out of water.

After freshening up Hinata called out to her brother. Receiving silence as a response she went to look for him and went downstairs to check. "Niisan? What's up? Where are… you?" she asked as she saw him looking stunned at the door. She noticed Daisuke and another strange man were there at the front door and seemed to be having a staring contest amongst each other, given the way they all just stood there looking at one another.

The stranger with the long, silky, silver hair caught sight of her the minute he felt her reiatsu at the top of the stairs and it stunned him how powerful it was. That was all the proof Ukitake needed and he told Daisuke so. "I see what you mean Daisuke-san. This is enough for me. I'll go see what I can do; I leave the rest to you. It was good seeing you two." he said smiling at the children before turning around and leaving

When Mitsurugi snapped out of his daze he started asking questions a mile a minute. "Who was that? That was your captain, wasn't it? What's he doin' in Rukongai? Why'd he come all the way to see us? What'd he mean about that's enough for him?"

Although Daisuke wanted to chuckle at his little brother's antics and Hinata's confused stare he answered them completely serious. "I'll explain all of that later. What I need you to do for now is to do what I asked of you from yesterday. And train her otouto; I have to get back to work. I'll be around later on for sure. Be safe." and then he followed after Ukitake

At the mention of training, Mitsurugi became gravely serious because it reminded him of his desire to get accepted into Seireitei like his brother and get out of the bad living conditions he's in right now. And now he also had to train his imouto so she could get in too because he wouldn't leave her behind here. They had to get out and he'd see to it that they did.

Hinata on the other hand wasn't too thrilled about the whole idea of training because of all the bad memories that accompanied it. She'd rather not do it but she'd try her best for them because of all they've done for her so far, this was her chance to pay them back for it.

Sensing her reluctance Mitsurugi did what he could to pump her up. "Don't worry sis, this'll be fun! You'll like this, trust me. But this is important and you'll soon understand why. Now why don't we get started right away, shall we?"

"Alright."

"Okay! Let's do this!" He jumped up, pumping his fists in the air causing Hinata to smile and giggle at him. They had a lot to do but they'd get through it together.

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A/N: I'll put in a glimpse of how her new training is going next chapter and I was wondering if I should just skip ahead to when Hinata joins the 13 divisions or if I should show how everyone back in Konoha is taking the news. Y'all know what to do… go hit that review button down there and leave your thoughts because they matter to me.


	3. A World Left Behind

-Division 13 Captain's Office-

"Okay, so I called you in to discuss the ryoka you brought here again." Ukitake started off, "Before I go before the council I'll make a deal with you." he looked Daisuke right in the eye as he said this

"What deal would that be taichou?" he inquired

"I will give you a classified mission to the living world for the purpose of training the girl and your brother. Then upon your return I will test them both on their knowledge and skill level. If I feel they aren't good enough then I won't even try to convince the council to let her in. Is that clear?" he asked sternly

"Hai! Taichou, may I leave? I need to get started training them right away."

"Wait. I'm not done. You have a set time limit to accomplish this goal. I will give you 3 months to complete this task, in 3 months time you have to return and I will put them to the test. The final catch is they both have to pass or she doesn't get in. After all, I remember your request was to get them in together. If they can't pass together, they can't get in together."

"I got it."

"Good. Now you may leave. Good luck to you all; I look forward to seeing those kids." Ukitake sent him away with a confident smile.

'I know for a fact that he'll pull it off. I just had to put the pressure on him to make sure. I can't wait to see how this all pays off. Hmm… maybe I should promote him to fukutaichou?' Ukitake thought to himself as he left his office. 'I'll just see how it goes before making a final decision about that.'

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-District 75: Daisuke's House-

"Oi! That was pretty good sis! You're really good at hand to hand fighting. The only problem was you kept hesitating to strike. You just have to be more sure of yourself is all and you'll be fine. I know for sure you could kick my ass easy!" Mitsurugi told her with a sincere grin

They had just got finished with their morning training and were now taking a lunch break when they both heard the familiar two taps on the front door. Mitsurugi went to answer it while Hinata started preparing the food. He was shocked but happy to see his older brother at the front door.

"Hey aniki! Whatcha doin' here? Don't you have work to do and stuff?" he asked him but quickly added, "Not that I ain't happy to see you or anything like that." he finished with a sheepish smile while scratching the back of his head

Chuckling at him, Daisuke replied "I know otouto, I know. I came here because I have an assignment that has to do with you and Hinata-chan."

"Me and sis? What's it gotta do with us?" he questioned as he let his brother inside and closed the door

"I'll tell you but I only wanna say it once and to both of you, so I'll wait 'til imouto-chan comes in."

"Huh? Hey Daisuke-niisan, it's good to see you again! What are you doing here?" she curiously tilted her head to the side

"I'm here to take you two on a trip!" he grinned at their surprised expressions

"Wait a minute! You said you had a mission that had to do with us brother! So what do ya mean you're takin' us on a trip?"

"Well you see, my mission is to take you both to the real world and train you for 3 months. I have to make sure you're strong enough by the time we comeback so you can pass the test you'll have to take. But don't worry, I'll have both of ya whipped up into shape in no time, so go get packed. We're leavin' as soon as possible."

They both raced to grab what they'd need for the next 3 months for training and such while Daisuke grabbed certain books on the 4 methods of fighting for shinigami and other books that varied from the history and legends of Seireitei to how to properly perform konso, plus he brought strategy and hollow classification books along with practice weapons. He needed to make sure he taught them enough of everything, more like taught Hinata enough since she's behind Mitsurugi in training because he had a head start. Once the dynamic duo were set they headed out to the gate that would take them to the living world.

"Just so you know we'll be going to a remote area to train for total privacy and concentration that way no one can come and distract us. Fair warning too, I'll be working you like a slave driver so brace yourselves." at that they both gulped audibly, "But don't worry, we'll still have fun during our training. Now for the first order of business. How much did you teach her Mitsurugi?"

"Just the basics like how to sense reiatsu and how to call on and control hers. She learned really quick and even taught me a few tricks and helped me improve my hand to hand combat." he finished proudly while ruffling her hair, which of course caused her to blush from the praise

"Really now? That's great! Hmm… if that's the case you just might catch the attention of Soi Fong-taichou if you're any good. She's the head of Division 2 and the best at Hakuda and Hohou in all of Seireitei at the moment."

"Ano… what's Hakuda and Hohou?" Hinata asked tentatively

"Oh! That's right, I never told you about that." he snapped his fingers at that realization and quickly dug through his duffle bag full of books and pulled out one book for her to read, "Read those; they'll give you an in depth explanation on the 4 styles of fighting. But to answer your question now, Hakuda is bare hand military combat and Hohou is another one of the four styles of fighting, it's the step method. There's more on all of that in the books I brought along. When I'm not physically training you, I want you to study those books and when I say study I mean read and learn from them, alright?" he finished sternly

"Yes aniki." they both said in unison as they reached the gate

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-In Konoha-

"Can you believe she went missing like that? The Hyugas are in an uproar about it." a chuunin whispered to his colleagues

"Yeah, I know. It's crazy ain't it? And to think it's not the first attempt at kidnapping her." another added

"Mhmm. It's just the first time it succeeded." a third interjected

"Some say she ran away." a fourth came in

"Really? I've been told that she died." a fifth shocked everyone

"No way!"

"Are you serious!"

"You're kidding!"

"That's a lie!"

"Nope. I heard that's what happened." he told them solemnly

"Hey, wasn't she in Iruka Umino's class?" the second chuunin professor asked

"Yeah, she was. I wonder how he and his other students are taking it?" the first said

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-With Iruka's Class-

"Guess I should start role call now." Iruka said sadly to himself, "Aburame Shino!"

"Present." he responded quietly

"Akimichi Chouji!"

"(munch, munch) Here!"

"Haruno Sakura!"

"Here sensei!" she stated in a sing-song voice whiled eyeing Sasuke

"Hyu… Inuzuka Kiba!" he called out difficultly after his slip up

"Over here." Kiba replied flatly and then Iruka continued down the list to finish

"Alright! Now class, we'll be reviewing the history of the Yondaime Hokage and his sacrifice…" he droned on as most of the class tuned out the repetitive lecture

"Hey did you hear about Hinata-san?" Ino asked Sakura being the gossiper that she is

"Yeah. It's a shame what happened to that girl." Sakura responded

"Some think she ran away."

"I heard she was abducted." she told Ino

"Really?"

"Yeah, some guy said he saw her run off towards the woods in a panic and then a little later someone or something followed her in." she said in suspense

"Oh my God!" Ino gasped in horror

"I know!" and they continued to swap stories about the disappearance

"This sucks, right Akamaru?" Kiba complained to his k-9 companion and received a whine of agreement in return. They had liked Hinata and knew it'd be different now that she's gone.

A moment later the class was interrupted by a very late academy student bursting through the doors. The young and short blonde had a silly grin on his face as he scratched the back of his head.

"Late again dobe." Sasuke said coolly from his seat

"Yeah! Why're ya always late, ya doofus?" Kiba yelled out

"Shut up you bastards!" he yelled at them both as he shook his fist at them

"Don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that!" Ino and Sakura double-teamed him

"Naruto! What have I told you about being late?" Iruka caught his attention

"Hehehe… gomen nasai Iruka-sensei." he said nervously

"(Sigh) Never mind. Just go to your seat and try to be on time next time." Iruka told him disappointedly

"Will do sensei!" he replied as he went to his seat; sitting down he noticed that something was off in the room, "Hey! Isn't somethin'… I dunno… missing here?"

"Hinata-chan's not here baka! Haven't you heard?" Kiba replied

"Nope. What, is she sick or somethin'?" he asked in confusion since he was totally clueless

"No! Gosh! What, do you live under a rock? She's been kidnapped!" Ino shouted at him

"Now that'll be enough of that!" Iruka shouted, "No one knows what happened to her but she isn't here. That's all any of you need to know. Don't say things like that because spreading those kinds of rumors can get you into trouble. Now pay attention!" he chastised them

'What? She's missing? I wonder if she's okay. Hopefully they'll find her soon. Be safe wherever you are.' Naruto (for once) silently prayed for her well-being before coming back to reality.

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-Hyuga Compound-

"Still no signs of her yet?" Hiashi asked a bit dejectedly although you couldn't tell from his stoic façade

"No Hiashi-sama; there haven't been any clues to her whereabouts as of yet sir." a Branch House member bowed to him

"That'll be all." he said icily, his anger over his eldest daughter's disappearance getting the best of him

'Who would be able to pull this off without so much as one flaw? That's damn near impossible, especially since there's a house full of Byakugan users! Why would anyone try kidnapping her again when the last time was such a failure? I've failed to protect our daughter Haruna, can you ever forgive me?' Hiashi was lost within the storm of raging emotions and dismal thoughts, when his youngest child snapped him out of his reverie.

"Otou-san? Did they find onee-chan yet?" little 6 year old Hanabi asked quietly

"No they haven't Hanabi-chan." he said softly to her

"Why not? Why can't they find her? When she would run off before, they always found her and brought her back. Why can't they now?" Hanabi started getting louder the more she asked

"I don't know." Hiashi answered with a sigh

"Why aren't you looking for her, 'tou-san? Why are you just sitting there? Why don't you go find her and bring her back?! I want my nee-chan back!" she threw a tantrum while crying for her sister, "Bring her back 'tou-san! Bring her back!"

"That's enough Hanabi!" Hiashi yelled

"No! Go find her! If you don't then I'll go!" she said as she turned to run out

She didn't get very far when Hiashi grabbed her and then turned her around and slapped her. "That is ENOUGH! You will do no such thing! Stop this foolishness at once! I won't have you become weak like she was! Get rid of these ridiculous emotions and forget about her! She's gone and most likely won't come back, now stop this!" he bellowed

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed at him, "You never cared about nee-chan did you? I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!"

"That's fine. Guards! Take Hanabi to her room and make sure she doesn't leave at all without either one of you, understood?" he ordered 2 Branch members while once again composing himself into the emotionless man he appeared as to others

"Hai Hiashi-sama!" and with that they escorted the new heiress to her room

"What's happening to my family?" he questioned himself aloud while shaking his head

'Forgive me Haruna, my love. Forgive me Hanabi. Forgive me Hinata. Please forgive me.' He pleaded mentally with the women of his life.

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-Training Grounds-

"Hey." Tenten said as she walked up to her teammate

"Hn." was the stoic response

"I, uh… heard about your cousin." she began tentatively, "I'm really sorry about that."

"What are you apologizing for? You weren't involved, besides it's better off this way." Neji told her

"How can you say that?" she asked in disbelief, "Your little cousin is missing; I thought that this would be hard on you. Don't you miss her? Aren't you worried?"

"No."

"Why not?" her eyes widened at his answer as she stared on incredulously

"Because she was weak and insane and a failure. A true embarrassment to the Hyuga name. This is her destiny. She's the reason why… forget it. She's getting what she deserves for all of her shortcomings. Good riddance to useless garbage." he said harshly

"I never knew you… hated her so much. Maybe… just maybe she IS better off gone, then that way… that way she won't be stuck with a family that doesn't care." Tenten finally whispered while looking to the sky

"Greetings comrades! Has our beloved Gai-sensei arrived yet to teach us the ways of youthfulness and…" Lee rambled on when he met up with them, instantly evaporating the depressingly tense atmosphere

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-With Daisuke and the kids-

"Well we're here!" Daisuke breathed in the fresh air of the living world

"Whoa! This place is huge!" Mitsurugi called out observing their surroundings

"So this is where we'll be training?" Hinata asked quietly

"Yep!" Daisuke smiled as he ruffled her hair

They were standing in what appeared to be a large clearing in the middle of some unknown forest. In the background was a huge set of mountains with snow-tipped peaks and off to the side was a vast lake with a waterfall streaming into it.

"Let's get set up first. The sooner we start the better." he told them

After setting up camp they went to the center of the clearing and the kids braced themselves for the start of what would be a rigorous training schedule for the next 3 months.

"Since we've only got a short amount of time to train I figured we'll have to use the fastest possible methods to improve." Daisuke started off, "I won't lie to you; this'll be very hard and somewhat dangerous. This is the most extreme but most effective training technique around. It's been dubbed the Urahara Kisuke method."

"What is it?" Mitsurugi questioned

"This training regimen is more or less for Hinata-chan but that's only for the first part of it. Since imouto isn't exactly dead she can't be a full-time shinigami."

"But she can be a shinigami, right?"

"Yeah. But it's harder for her to unlock her abilities, so that's where the technique comes in. It'll get her to awaked those powers of hers in a matter of days, 3 to be exact." he told them while holding up 3 fingers

"How do you know it'll take 3 days?" Hinata asked this time

"Because that's all you'll have to pull it off. You see, if you fail to activate your powers, you'll turn into a hollow and I'll be forced to kill you if that happens." he responded gravely causing Hinata to pale and nearly faint

"WHAT?! But aniki, you can't do that to imouto-chan! There has to be another way!" Mitsurugi yelled at him in shock for even suggesting that

"There is none as efficient as this and because of our limited time together this is the best and only option. Think of it as an incentive to succeed. Once she awakens her skills we'll take it from there. Don't worry you two, I know she'll do it. I have faith in both of you!" he finished with a smile

"Of course she'll do it, she's our sister! And she's the best!" Mitsurugi chimed in while throwing his arm over her shoulders, it helped to boost her confidence

Taking a deep breath she asked, "Okay… What do I have to do?"

Smiling at her Daisuke said, "Just come with me and relax; I'm sure you'll get it."

He led her deep within the surrounding forest towards the waterfall. Once they reached the ridge of it he had her climb to the top with him. Standing on the bank up top he went toward her smiling all the while.

"What are you do…" She never got to finish because the next thing she knew Daisuke had pushed her down. "What was that for?" she asked annoyed; she failed to notice that her body was lying face down in front of her

"Oh nothing much. Just getting you ready for your training." he grinned at her

"I don't see how pushing me is getting me…" She stopped her complaints when she noticed Daisuke holding up her body, waving its hand at her. "Oh. My. God." Then she fainted; Mitsurugi could hear his brother's laughter all the way down in the clearing.

Hinata woke a few minutes later to see her nii-san wiping tears of mirth from his eyes and stifling chuckles. "Whew! That was hilarious! Your face was priceless imouto-chan!" he said while pinching her cheeks, "But on a serious note let's do this. Here's what's going to happen; I'm gonna hold your body here hostage while you try to climb the walls of the waterfall to get to it."

Noticing the relief cross her features he continued, "Now it may sound easy but it ain't. You could get up to the top but to get your body back you'll have to get through me and I'll most likely send you back down to the bottom of the waterfall. Another catch is that while this is happening your chain of fate" he pointed to it, "will be eaten away as you go through encroachment."

"Then what can I do?"

"I would suggest getting your body back, but as you are now you won't be able to beat me so you have to get your shinigami powers and soon because the encroachment process has already begun." he told her as he showed her the chain-eating worms getting their free meal, "Now enough talk." Without further warning he tossed her to the awaiting lake below.

"This'll be a LONG three days." he whistled as he waited for her to come back to the top

A/N: It's been a while since I updated this story because I've been unbelievably busy so if I made anyone wait for the next installment I apologize. Just fair warning, now that school is getting closer to starting time for me I'll have even less free time to update anything let alone this story. But for now let me know if you enjoyed this chapter, Read and Review!


	4. Tick Tock Goes the Clock

-2 ½ Days Later-

It's been two and a half days since Hinata's training started and it's been nothing but hell for the young Hyuga. All it's consisted of is her climbing up the waterfall only to be knocked back down into the lake. A couple of times it seemed like she almost got to her prize only for Daisuke to appear out of nowhere and send her flying. He didn't hit her, no instead he'd bodily pick her up and throw her over the waterfall into the lake. She's just about reached her limit; not only is she tired and soaking wet but her chain of fate has almost completely corroded away. Oh yes, she's spent and ready to give up or scream, whatever comes first. 'What kind of torture is this? I didn't take nii-san for a sadist.'

"Come on now Hinata-chan. You have to get up. Your time's almost up." he told her seriously, although he wanted to laugh because she looked like a wet kitten

Standing up shakily she sent him a heated glare that met with amused eyes. She breathed deeply as she shivered and tried to come up with a plan. 'As if it'll work because my other ones didn't. I don't stand a chance.' _Don't think like that little one or else you really will fail._ a feminine voice told her 'Huh? Where'd that come from? Who said that?' _It came from you, from your mind. I said those words._ 'Who or what are you?' _I am a part of you. If you want to know who I truly am then you'll have to search deep within yourself to find out._ 'What? What do you mean by that?' She didn't receive a response this time.

"Hey are you done daydreamin' yet?" Daisuke called out effectively breaking her from her thoughts, he waited for her to do something

"How much time do I have left?" she asked, it's something she's questioned him about before over the course of the 3 days

"You've got about eleven and a half hours left before the end." he answered her about the 3 day deadline as he watched her intently

"Okay. Thanks." she nodded tiredly to him then she closed her eyes and began to think

'She said search within myself. She is a part of me. A part of me.' As she thought this her breathing slowed and her body relaxed and it looked like she was about to fall asleep. But something more was going on beneath the surface and Daisuke had a good idea as to what it was. Opening her eyes, Hinata expected to see her adopted older brother standing before her with her body but she didn't.

The sight that greeted her was odd and sadly decaying. In front of her was a vast field of withering flowers and a deep gray sky and off in the distance was a large castle made of pure white stone. The massive building seemed to be crumbling and was dulled but there was something about it that drew her in.

Getting up she walked towards it and towards whatever it was that was calling out to her. Once she stepped inside, a strange feeling of familiarity swept over her. It felt as if she knew exactly where she had to go, as if she'd walked these very halls numerous times in her life. This feeling intrigued her and comforted her all at once as she allowed her feet to take her to her destination.

Arriving in front of a dilapidated set of wooden double-doors, she pushed them open and stepped inside. The appearance of the room shocked her senses because what she saw was a room that looked like the night sky. The floor, the walls, the ceiling were a deep midnight blue and scattered all around were what appeared to be thousands, no millions of stars. 'What is this place? Is this outer space or something?' Her curious eyes scanned the entirety of the room before walking along a path, that can only be described as stardust, towards something. She stopped and stood before a throne that looked like it was made of diamonds and shimmering crystals.

"Wow." she said clearly impressed

"I know." a womanly voice seconded

Surprised by the response, she nearly jumped 10 feet in the air before spinning around to see a beautiful lady dressed in a pure white kimono with a lavender sash and a sparkling gemstone bracelet on her right wrist. She had long hair that reached her lower back in a curtain of silky blackness. Her complexion was a healthy peach tan and her skin was smooth and supple. The kimono she wore accentuated all her curves while giving her an ethereal, regal look.

Staring at her face, Hinata saw how young she appeared, no older than 18 or 20 if she guessed right. The woman's eyes were enchanting and held a kindness and wisdom like no other in their beautiful lavender depths; they also had sky blue pupils. The older female gave her a dazzling smile as she looked at her younger counterpart amusedly.

"Why do you look so startled little one? You did after all come here to meet me, right?" she grinned with a raised brow

"You're the voice?" she inquired shell-shocked

"Mhmm. Welcome to your inner-world."

"My inner-world?" the woman nodded to answer her, "Why does it look like this?"

"Like what exactly?"

"Like it's falling apart, yet this room doesn't seem touched."

"It appears that way because it is in fact falling apart and this room remains unchanged because this is the core and it hasn't been affected yet. This throne room is essentially the center of your universe. If this place were to start decaying then all is lost and you would surely die."

"Oh. But why is my world collapsing?"

"Because you are going through the process of turning into a hollow."

"How do I stop it?"

"You asked the right question. In order to stop it you have to find your powers and unlock them. Only then will you be able to prevent it."

"How do I find them?"

"You look little one. They're somewhere within the castle locked away. Find out where and you will have what you seek."

"Alright. Thank you!" she bowed to her hurriedly and ran off to search

"I hope she finds them soon or it will all be over." she said as she felt the changes take effect on the rest the world

Running around from room to room she scoured the whole castle as efficiently as possible. It seemed like hours since she's started and judging from the even more rundown look, it had been. Hinata was starting to panic now.

"Oh man! Where could it be?! Crap! If I don't hurry up it'll be too late!"

Speeding down the hallway she almost missed a door that led to another room. Going inside she saw this room was actually a training room filled with weapons. All along the walls many different kinds lined the place, ranging from your average staff to the most elaborate kind of blade. Looking around she saw a red ribbon lying on the ground seemingly out of place in the room. She picked it up and realized that it trailed off to the far end of the room.

Grabbing hold of it she pulled on it only to find that something on the other end of it was keeping it from coming to her, so she did what any clueless person would do, she tugged harder until she decided to give it a rest and go see what was holding it back. Following its lead into the dark corner she noticed a katana laying within a glass case on top of a red clothed stand. She went over to it and freed the katana from its glass prison and eyed it reverently.

The sword was sheathed inside of a pure white scabbard that had a golden dragon design imprinted on it. The hand guard was golden as was the hilt but the hilt was wrapped in white silk. The handle was wrapped in a way so that there were 3 open areas in the shape of diamonds that displayed the gold of the hilt. The middle diamond had a sapphire gem carved in the shape of a star centered in it. Wanting to see what the actual blade itself looked like she decided to unveil it only to be blinded by a white light.

"Ah. So she's found me at last." The woman smiled serenely once she felt her home begin to rejuvenate. "I'll tell her my name some other time."

Hinata uncovered her eyes only to find herself looking up at the sky, which was a beautiful baby blue and not the dismal gray or the starry blue she saw previously.

"Whoa. The sun's bright. What am I doing outside on my back?" she asked aloud

"You sorta passed out imouto-chan. Are you okay?" Daisuke looked at her as she sat up

"Yeah. Never better nii-san. Wait… nii-san? You mean I'm back with nii-san?"

"Yeah. Where else would you have been?"

"Uh… nowhere I guess. Ano… Daisuke-niisan?"

"Hmm?"

"How long have I been out?"

"A day and a half."

"What?! But the deadline!"

"What about it? It's been met and you're not a hollow."

"Alright!" She yelled out excitedly while she jumped up and pumped her fist in the air.

Chuckling at her antics he said, "Mitsurugi's already rubbed off on ya huh?" She blushed and quieted down making Daisuke laugh a bit harder, "You're too funny, ya know that? Anyways a little after you passed out I brought you and your body back to camp and covered you up near the fire. A few hours later, after I finished training otouto, there was a huge reiatsu surge coming from your direction, so I ran over to check on ya and saw you had tapped into your shinigami powers. Just take a look, see yourself."

Doing as she was told, she looked down to see herself dressed in shinigami robes clutching the very same sword that had hypnotized her in the castle.

"I… I did it!" she whispered in disbelief

"Yes you did." Daisuke smiled proudly

"So… can we start the real training now?" Mitsurugi asked very anxious to begin

"Later, she still needs to eat and rest otouto."

"Okay. And by the way, congratulations sis!" He gave her a thumbs up with a grin.

"Thank you." she replied but as she looked him over she noticed he was wearing shinigami garbs as well, "When did you get your powers?"

"Oh. I had them for a while. I gained 'em when I was training with brother when he first got into Seireitei."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We were having a spar and otouto was losin' pretty bad and it looked like there was no chance he'd beat me but being as stubborn as he was wouldn't quit."

"Yep. You see, there was a slight chance for a comeback and I went for it. It really paid off too." he told her while proudly patting his zanpakuto, "I wish you could've seen the look on aniki's face; man was that great! But you probably weren't even born then."

"What do you mean by that? It couldn't have been that long ago; I mean you're only a little bit older than me."

"That's not really true. We only told you we were that old because we looked the part and it'd be easier for you to handle." Daisuke informed her while scratching his head sheepishly

"That's right. Our real ages are over at least 100 years old. To be perfectly honest I'm 127." Mitsurugi told her

"And I'm 158. People age FAR slower in Soul Society than those in the living world. A woman could appear to you as someone that doesn't look a day over 20 and could in fact be easily 150 or older. It's pretty wild."

"I think I need to lie down." Hinata breathed out while shaking her head.

Laughing Mitsurugi said, "You do that sis. You deserve it, besides you'll need all the rest you can get for later."

"Just one question."

"Shoot."

"Does that whole aging thing effect me?"

"Nope because you're still alive. The aging only happens to souls that have truly passed on from the world of the living. You haven't so you'll still age normally. But the more we stay around you, you might very well cause us to grow up a little faster than we did before because you're alive, but that's just a theory. Now get some rest." Daisuke told her before walking off

"Nighty night sis." Mitsurugi said before following his brother

'I got some real elders for brothers. I guess it's true what they say: young at heart is young forever.' She chuckled at that thought. She then got up and went inside her tent after grabbing a bite to eat. 'I wonder what the rest of training is going to be like? I hope it isn't as bad as the past 3 days. I don't think I'll be able to stay sane if that were to happen.' Shaking her head at her thoughts, Hinata readied herself for bed. 'Just don't think about it. Don't think. Oh boy, what did I get myself into?' And with that last thought she promptly fell asleep.


	5. Heart of the Matter

"Look out sis or he's gonna get ya!" Mitsurugi gave Hinata a heads up

Turning around, she saw Daisuke coming in to tag her and he was coming in fast… way too fast. Thinking quickly she back flipped out of the way to avoid getting caught. Daisuke just smirked and sped past her using shunpo to get to his little brother. Tagging him and then moments later Hinata he called for a break.

"You two are gettin' better but you can use some work. You know the next time we play you guys are it, right?" he grinned at them

"Yeah. Sure." Mitsurugi grumbled obviously not fond of losing; Hinata just nodded her acceptance.

"Aww, don't be like that otouto. If you get just a little faster you'd be able to last longer."

"It isn't fair that you use shunpo and all we can do is run around. And why do you punch me?!"

"Not my fault that I know something you don't. Besides you'll figure it out eventually. Now it's time to get back to it, hehehe." Daisuke was clearly enjoying their 'tag' sessions.

"Not again." Hinata mumbled while shaking her head

"You know the rules. You can't move around to catch me unless it's shunpo and if you move around by running and I catch you, I'll hold you in place with Bakudo number one for as long as I want. And then I'll double the rest of your training."

"Sadist." Mitsurugi uttered

"No complaints! Besides you guys caught me before."

"Yeah but it took us two straight weeks without food or rest you jerk!"

"Yes but when someone's desperate it seems to bring out the best results. I mean, you caught me with shunpo then, didn't you?"

"We did but it seemed like a fluke." Hinata told him, all Mitsurugi did was nod

"Then you weren't paying attention to what ya did. Try focusing on what you did and you'll get it soon enough. Now less talk, more action."

"This is gonna take forever!" Mitsurugi whined

"Then stop whinin' and hop to it otouto!"

"This sucks." Hinata murmured before getting to the task at hand

-6 hours later-

"Still nothin'. We just can't seem to catch him and we missed lunch already!"

"If we don't get Daisuke-niisan we'll miss dinner too, so I say instead of chasing him we try finding out the trick to shunpo. Then once we do that we can get him for sure." Hinata suggested

"Alright, let's do this!" Mitsurugi agreed

They both sat down cross-legged and closed their eyes. Relaxing their minds and bodies and steadying their breathing, they concentrated on remembering how they caught Daisuke last time.

-Flashback-

Hinata and Mitsurugi were racing through the trees after their target being careful not to be seen or sensed in anyway. They had been on the hunt for days now and were getting weary. The siblings gave each other twin looks of determination once they felt Daisuke's reiatsu in the area. Holding up her fist, Hinata signaled for them to stop. Understanding passed between them as they realized that Daisuke had stopped moving. Running in opposite directions to trap him on either side, they thought that they had finally caught him. They were in for a rude awakening.

"You two slipped up. You really thought you had me caught, didn't ya?" Daisuke called out randomly as he disappeared from view. The next thing either of them knew was that the roles were reversed; instead of being the hunters they were the hunted. In the blink of an eye, Daisuke had Mitsurugi trapped using Bakudo spell number one: Restrain. Then he went after Hinata while still maintaining the spell. She could barely dodge his attempts at getting her but somehow she managed. She didn't even realize that she was using shunpo, although she did notice Daisuke's silly, but knowing, grin.

'What's he smirking about? Duck! Step, burst, step, flip, step, burst. If I keep it up I just might be able to catch him. Ah ha, an opening! I got him!'

"Tag! You're it!" Hinata breathed out harshly while managing to muster up a relieved smile.

-End Flashback-

"That's it! I got it Mitsurugi! Come here!" She waved him over and explained that to use shunpo you've got to use your reiatsu to give you a speed boost to move and that once it's done properly you can cover a ton of ground between individual steps.

"That's all? That's easier than I thought."

"Yeah. I guess that's why we didn't think of it. That and nii-san never lets us get a break to eat and sleep."

"Now that we know, let's get him. We should be faster than most because of all that running made us quicker."

"Yep! Let's go." and with that they flash stepped away to 'tag' their older brother

-10 minutes later-

"Whew! You actually wore me out!" Daisuke told them as he laid on his back trying to even out his heavy breathing, "You two got me good! I'm proud of you both."

"Heheh, thanks." Hinata replied just as tiredly with a sincere smile

"Yeah, what she said." Mitsurugi seconded, "That was so much more fun!" They all sniggered at that and agreed; then Daisuke gave them the rundown.

"Alright. We'll take a break for an early dinner and then we'll do some zanjutsu training."

"Yay! Food!" Mitsurugi cheered with an already watering mouth

"There he goes." Daisuke mumbled, "It's Mitsurugi the stomach."

"More like human vacuum cleaner. You know how he inhales food." Hinata chimed in, sharing a laugh with Daisuke at Mitsurugi's expense.

"Hey! I don't appreciate that! He practically starves me for food!" he pointed an accusing finger at Daisuke, "And you're one to talk, seeing as though you're just as bad, you gobble-monster!"

"I do not starve you!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Hey! I'm not a gobble-monster! I'm just really hungry!"

"Oh yes you are!"

"Am not!"

The brother-sister trio continued to bicker and squabble playfully as they prepared their meal. Once they ate, they each grabbed their zanpakuto and went into the center of the clearing. They then got into ready positions and waited for the right moment to strike. Within seconds the sounds of metal clashing and clanging against each other filled the air within their training area. Loud grunts and yells echoed throughout the are making it seem like a fierce battle was going on instead of a simple spar.

The following month and a half went in much the same manner, just far more intense as they improved. On the second to last night during their three month training trip, they all sat down for a much needed break and decided to just talk.

"Hey, you two are doing great." Daisuke said to his charges, "I just wanna know something."

"What is it aniki?" The two youngsters responded; they became so synchronized from having to work together constantly that they knew what the other was thinking with only a look and even spoke the same words at the same time.

"Why do you keep going?" He asked with a smile; honestly he knew why but he just wanted to make sure they never forgot their reasons.

"Because we want to get stronger." they chorused again

"And I get that, but there's something else, right?" He asked to find out if there was more to it than that driving them forward.

"Well, I wanna follow in your footsteps aniki, and then I wanna be stronger than you to make you proud and so everyone will know the name Watanabe and know we're a strong family." Mitsurugi said seriously making his older brother grin proudly at him and ruffle his hair.

"I know you'll do just that someday Mitsurugi. And what about you Hinata-imouto? I remember when we first met you said that you wanted to learn and get stronger. Don't you think you fulfilled that?"

"I did but there's still much more that can learn and so much more that I can do to get even stronger. But I have another goal." she said softly

"What's that sis?" Mitsurugi prodded curiously, of all the things he knew about her from their time together he never knew this, so he was genuinely interested in this new reason for his sister to keep training.

"I want to find my mother." she said firmly, "I haven't seen her since I was little and I thought that maybe… maybe I…"

"Can find her in Soul Society?" Daisuke finished for her

"Yeah. I want to find her so I can tell her I'm sorry and that I love her. I want to ask her to forgive me." As she spoke, her got lower and lower until it was little more than a sad whisper.

"Why do you want her to forgive you? I'm sure you did nothing wrong."

"You don't get it! I did! I did do something wrong!" she was in tears from all the pain and guilt she felt right then, "I caused her so much trouble that it got her killed!" She still spoke softly, although her crying became more intense.

"What are you talking about? Sis calm down." Mitsurugi grabbed her and held her to try and calm her sobbing so she could tell them what happened. "There. Can you tell us what happened now?" he asked gently once her crying calmed down to small hiccups and sniffles

"Yeah. Well it all happened when I was six…" and she began to tell them of the night her mom left her

-Flashback (5 years ago)-

'It's dark. It's dark everywhere. I can't see. Where is everybody? I'm all alone. I hate being alone. Where's tou-san? Where's Hanabi-imouto? Where's kaa-chan? I want kaa-chan. Okaa-chan where are you?'

Little Hinata was running around frantically searching for her mother. She didn't know where she was going or where it was she had come from; she just knew that she had to keep looking. But where can one look when they're surrounded by a black emptiness, an abyss of nothing? Before long she began to hear a voice, deep and rumbling.

"I know where your mother is, Hina. Come closer to me and I'll show you." It beckoned her. She was about to go to it when another more shrill tone called out, "No! Don't listen to that fool! Your mother is with me! Come my way Hina!" It caused her to stop completely and stand still in pure confusion. Soon many more voices came rushing to her ears all at once frightening the already confused girl.

"No she's over her Hina!"

"This way Hina!"

"Follow me Hina!"

"Here is where she is Hina!"

The din of voices grew into a loud roar of jumbled sounds causing Hinata to drop to the ground in panic and horror and curl in on herself. Covering her head and ears with her hands, she crouched down low to the ground and screamed at the top of her lungs, "STOP!" But the voices only persisted, constantly calling her by her beloved nickname given to her be her dear mother.

"Hina!" they called, "No!"

"Hina!" they once again called, "No!"

"Hina!" they beckoned her one more time, "NO!"

"Hina! Hina! Wake up!" A worried voice called out to her softly whilst they gently shook her awake. Shooting up in bed with her eyes wide open in fright she looked to the side to see a woman with midnight blue hair that went straight down her back. Her deep amethyst eyes stared at her in pure concern. The lightly pink-tanned woman watched her oldest daughter as she cradled her younger, one-year old in her arms. Seeing her mom and little sister there beside her helped to calm Hinata's alarmed mind slightly. She was breathing heavily with tears running down her cheeks as she kept eye contact with her mother. Hanabi looked between the two in childish curiosity and dread of what scared her sister so much.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" She placed a hand on her eldest daughter's cheek. Hinata didn't answer her verbally but instead hugged her mother tightly while she began to relax more. Burying her head in the crook of her mother's neck, she spoke to her, "I had a bad dream 'kaa-chan. You and tou-san and imouto-chan were all gone and I was all by myself."

"Aww, it's alright sweetie. It was just a bad dream." she soothed her

"Nee-chan scared, kaa-chan." Hanabi said full of wonder but there was worry etched in her eyes

"I know baby, I know. Hina-chan?" her mother called out to her softly

"Hai kaa-chan?" she was still clutching to her mother tightly

"Everything will be okay, you'll see. There's nothing to worry about."

"You promise?"

"I promise." she told her solemnly and she punctuated her pledge with a kiss to the top of her daughter's head, it put Hinata at ease, "Now go to sleep sweet pea." And she then tucked Hinata into bed, next Hanabi giving both her girls goodnight kisses before leaving them to sleep. But Hinata didn't go to sleep right away, instead she heard her parents arguing about her… again.

"Damn it Haruna! You coddle that girl too much, that's why she is the way she is! She's even disturbing Hanabi now! Next time leave the girl be; she needs to get stronger anyway."

"Don't you dare call our baby weak! She's just a little girl Hiashi! She's only six for goodness' sake! Kids have bad dreams, they don't know how to deal with them yet! You're too harsh with her!"

"Don't give me that nonsense! This isn't the first time! Remember that time she ran away because she said there was a monster chasing her?! She was nearly kidnapped by that bastard from Kumo then!" Haruna remained silent at that. "Oh nothing to say now? And what about the time her caretaker spent hours trying to calm her because she was seeing things with 'white faces' and hearing voices? She's insane, delusional, and only at the age of six! She's been nothing but trouble, a complete burden!"

"Okay, so she's a bit more imaginative than most Hiashi but she is only a child and she's our daughter."

"She needs help."

"Hiashi please! You're overreacting! It isn't that serious!"

"Not that serious?… Not that serious! My brother died because of what happened 3 years ago and it had everything to do with her silly fear, her weakness! And you say it's not that serious; do you honestly hear yourself woman? Stop babying her and move on."

"What are you saying?" she asked lowly with an almost distressed edge in her voice

"I'm saying leave her alone. I certainly will. (Sigh) She, Haruna, is a lost cause. I think it's time you admit that." He finished coldly; internally he wanted to lash out at himself for being such a detached father, He loved Hinata dearly but he didn't know what to do with her, so he constantly distanced himself from her.

His last statement shocked Haruna even though she expected it, she didn't think he'd really come out and say it so unemotionally. Within a split second her shock was replaced with anger and she let him know just how upset she was with him for saying that when she slapped him across his face; it left a good pink hue on his once pale cheek too.

"I can't believe you'd actually give up on your own child like that!" her voice quivered with the suppressed fury, "She's not the weak one, it's you." She spat before storming off but before she left the room she told him why. "To give up so easily is not only weak, it's downright disgraceful. You should be ashamed of yourself." And with that said she left to go calm down in her garden.

Hinata laid in bed crying her eyes out. Lying restlessly in her bed Hinata just stared at her ceiling mindlessly as the words rippled throughout her head over and over again.

"Tou-san and kaa-chan always fight because of me. I don't want them to fight anymore."

"Then leave child." a foreign, smooth, deep voice told her, "It would be better that way. Your parents certainly wouldn't fight anymore." That was all that was needed to convince her to get up and go. She got out of bed and gave her baby sister a kiss on her forehead before heading down the hall to run outside.

-Back to the Present-

"At the time I truly believed that I was nothing but a burden and I really felt that I had to leave." she said while fighting back more sobs

"Who was the person that told you to leave?" Mitsurugi spoke up feeling pissed off over the whole situation but still needing to know who would tell her to leave her own home like that. Daisuke wanted to know too but remained quiet due to the immense scorn he was feeling towards Hiashi then. If they were to ever meet the man they'd surely beat him to a pulp on sight. 'What a prick, ugh!' the Watanabe boys thought simultaneously.

"That's the thing, I didn't know. But I found out quickly enough." she said as her sniffling and hiccups finally quieted

-Flashback again-

Hinata was running toward the nearby forest when she heard the distinct sound of heavy footfalls coming from behind her. She sped up her running only to realize that whatever was following her picked up its pace as well. She started to get that ominous creeping feeling that would always plague her when one of those 'white faced' creatures would chase her. Suddenly she tripped and fell, scrambling to get up she soon came face to face with her stalker… which happened to be a large hollow with a white mask that consisted of ram-like horns on the sides of its head. Its brown body was human-like only it was 10 times the size of your typical human. The hole was in the center of its chest and it had a wicked grin on its hideous face. The hollow started cackling like mad as he stared at the trembling form in front of him.

"Why so shaky, brat?" he asked with that grin still on his face, "Surely you aren't afraid of me?" He then advanced on her preparing to snatch her up in his giant claw-like hands. But Hinata's instinct to run was stronger and made her far quicker, for she soon turned around and began sprinting as fast as she possibly could away from him.

"Ooooh! I do love a nice game of cat and mouse." It spoke with malicious amusement as it began to run after her again. "I'll catch you soon enough my little morsel."

Moving as quickly as she could towards the forest, Hinata cut through her mother's garden to get there since it was a quicker path for an escape. 'If I could just find a good hiding spot like last time then maybe it'll go away.' Unknown to neither the predator nor the prey, Haruna was witnessing everything. She saw her child running for her life in the direction of the forest and although she couldn't see what was chasing her clearly, she could certainly feel it; she could also make out a vague outline of its shape. Getting to her feet she yelled out for her firstborn.

"Hina!" She shouted again when she realized that her daughter didn't hear her. "Hina wait!" When she didn't stop, Haruna took off after her. As she ran behind her daughter **the presence**, as she named it, became clear for her to see, changing from a clear haze to a solid form. Seeing the fiend caused apprehension to well up within her heart and mind.

The three beings raced through the forest, the smallest leading the way, to a very secluded area. All of the weaving through the trees made it difficult for Haruna to keep sight of her daughter and soon she found herself lost and separated from her little girl. Panic set in, rooting itself deeply in Hinata's mother, as more time was lost to find her. Using the last of her energy to get away, Hinata made a mad dash for a tree and dove into the hole in the trunk, which was just large enough for her small form to inside. Hinata's young mind was too preoccupied with her trepidation and need to hide to comprehend that she had just cornered herself for the hollow to get her.

"Easy pickings, hehehe. You foolish brat, you'll die for sure now." It said while grinning insanely; he was more than happy to get a free meal as delectable as this. 'I'll just play with this brat some more.' "Why do you insist on running from me? Do you not know who I am?"

"Go away!" Hinata cried out in her tiny voice

"Aww, you wound me deeply child. Now is that anyway to talk to the one who tried to help you end your parents' suffering?" It asked in the same smooth, deep accent that convinced her to leave for her parents' sake. Hinata soon realized that her mistake was believing in that sickening voice in the first place. Crying silently in terror she closed her eyes and prayed for someone, anyone to come and save her because she knew now she was finally caught.

"You won't come out, eh? Well you leave me no choice, I'll just have to crack this thing open to get you." The hollow drawled with a sigh; it was tired of playing with its food. Just as it was closing in on the tree, Haruna came running into the clearing screaming out for her daughter. "Leave Hinata alone you beast!"

"Oh? So you can see me too. Hmm… it's a 2 -for-1 deal tonight. Delicious! I guess I'll eat you first woman, then I'll devour that little brat of yours, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." It began cackling again.

Haruna stared at the hole in the tree trunk to see her child peering out at her with hopeful eyes. 'No one believed you little one, not even me. I'm ashamed to admit that but I believe you now and I'll protect you no matter what.' It was then Haruna knew what she had to do.

"It'll be okay sweet pea. I promised you it would be okay and I keep my promises. I love you Hinata." She told her one last time with a heartrending smile.

"Aww, how touching." it mocked her with a false tear, "That's real sweet and all but I'm hungry and it's about time I got my feeding."

Swallowing the lump of fright in her throat, Haruna eyed the hollow with a burning ferocity and fierce determination before speaking. "You want to eat me, huh? Well you're going to have to come and get me." she teased it

"I'm tired of chasing my dinner around." it whined

"What, the big, bad, ugly monster can't keep up?" She taunted; she hit the right nerve because with a vein bulging on its head it let loose a immense howl of rage and moved to grab her. Her sharp reflexes and great agility allowed her to dodge its claws and begin running away from the clearing with it following her close behind. "Hey get back here! Hold still you pest!" It shouted out at Haruna as it chased and swiped at her. Just before Haruna was out of sight she gave Hinata one last look. Even Hinata's young mind understood what that glance was about, it was a goodbye.

When both were gone, Hinata climbed out of the tree and ran back home with tears streaming down her face, right into the arms of her worried and panicked father. They waited for Haruna only to realize that she would never return to them.

-End of Flashback-

"My father sent out search teams from my clan and asked for shinobi assistance to help search for her. They all spent wasted hours searching. Then those hours turned to days, days became weeks, weeks became months, and soon enough 2 years went by before my father and the Hokage declared her dead. She wasn't deemed missing since there wasn't anything, not a single trace of her left to find. It was like she disappeared off the face of the earth. Most people that knew the details of what happened said it was my fault and I can't blame them either. It was all my fault." She finished in a whisper with fresh tears streaks running down her cheeks.

"Hey don't say that. Your mother protected you because she loved you. She doesn't blame you and neither should you or anyone else. You gotta forgive yourself sis." Mitsurugi spoke softly

"I can't. Not until I find her and make peace with her; I just can't Not until then." Her voice was quiet but loaded with emotion.

"Imouto, I hate to be the one to make things worse but what if she isn't in Soul Society? What if she's a hollow now? What will you do then?" Daisuke questioned her in his serious 'fifth seat officer' mode.

"If she's a hollow and not in Soul Society, then I'll just look for her until I find her as a hollow."

"But will you have the heart to…" Mitsurugi trailed off not wanting to finish that statement.

"… To kill her?" She finished for him with her head bent down and her bangs shadowing her eyes. He could only nod. "To be honest, I don't know but I do know that when the time comes I'll find out. A person does what needs to be done and if it comes to that, then I'll do what I have to do."

"Well… defeating a hollow isn't exactly killing it." Daisuke pointed out trying to make things better in the somber atmosphere.

"Oh yeah! When a shinigami beats a hollow, it's called cleansing. How could I forget!" Mitsurugi wanted to smack himself in the head for forgetting that one. "We studied that right sis?"

"We did?" she responded clearly not recalling the countless hours they spent with their noses in those books, "We did! Cleansing is when a shinigami split's the head and mask of a hollow in two or just damages them enough to effectively dispatch them. By doing this the person's soul is purified of all the sins it committed as a hollow. Depending on whether or not the person was a good person or a sinner in their lifetime determines if the soul is permitted into Soul Society or taken into Hell." She practically quoted the textbook word for word before coming to a conclusion. "So I wouldn't exactly be killing her if she's a hollow; I'd be freeing her of her sins and allowing her soul to rest in peace in Soul Society." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Exactly." Daisuke told her, "Unless she was an evil person in life but I doubt that she was."

"She wasn't, I can guarantee that." Hinata told them

"Yeah, this is her mom we're talkin' about." Mitsurugi said, "Hinata-imouto got her charms from her!"

"But still really wish it doesn't actually come to that." She said with a heavy heart.

"Would you rather it be someone else that defeats her?"

"No!" she said firmly, "If anyone takes her on, it'll be me. I'm the reason it all happened, so I'll be the one to make it right. That's **MY** duty, no one else's." She stated with conviction.

"Well then, let's get you stronger so you can find your mom." Daisuke said standing up and brushing off his clothes.

"No worries sis! We'll help make you stronger so you can find her and we'll help you track her down too! That's a promise, right aniki?" Mitsurugi said also getting to his feet.

"Right! We promised to help you every step of the way imouto-chan." Daisuke held out his hand in the center of the three of them. Mitsurugi then showed his unwavering support by placing his hand on top of his brother's with a grin. Finally, Hinata put her hand on top of theirs and grasped both tightly with teary eyes and a smile to show her acceptance and gratitude for all that they've done and promise to do for her.

"Thanks you guys!" she choked out emotionally, "You're the best brothers anyone could ever have."

"You know it!" Mitsurugi replied enthusiastically, causing everyone to laugh. They didn't realize it then but they made an unbreakable bond of love and trust, that only the closest of friends and family share, that night under the stars.

-Fast Forward-

"Well we go back today. You two ready?" Daisuke addressed his 2 siblings

"Hell yeah!" Mitsurugi yelled out excitedly

"Yeah, we're ready." Hinata said with a giggle at her brother's antics.

"Good. Okay, let's go!" And once that was said they gathered their belongings and marched off following Daisuke's lead. The next thing they noticed was a black swallowtail butterfly fluttering ahead of them before the, now very familiar, double-doors appeared in front of them. Once they opened the trio stepped through with their backs straight and heads held high.

-In Soul Society-

'Taichou said they're due back today.' Thought a lone shinigami waiting at the gate for the arrival of Daisuke and his group. "Looks like they're comin' back. I'll go tell Ukitake-taichou." Sentarou, one of the two rambunctious third seats, mentioned before sprinting off from the gate to his captain's quarters once he noticed the gate opening.

"Oh no you don't! I'll go inform taichou!" His rival Kiyone, the other third seat, bellowed before running off after him. Both of them blitzed through Seireitei to win their little race, howling all the while about who would be the more devoted subordinate to deliver the news with a few insults sprinkled in here and there. Slamming the door open, they both fought to step inside before their rival could and immediately called out.

"Ukitake-taichou! I've come to tell you that Daisuke-san has returned!" Sentarou explained before Kiyone could.

"No taichou! **I** have come to let you know that Daisuke-kun and the children are back, not this baka! Also as your loyal subordinate I apologize for barging I like this." Kiyone bowed towards her captain.

"As your most faithful and trustworthy third seat, **I** humbly apologize from my heart for my rude intrusion taichou. Please forgive me." Sentarou begged in the crouching tiger position (his head bowed down to the floor while he is on his hands and knees) trying to out do Kiyone. Ukitake cut them both off before it could escalate any further. And if one were to look up, they would see his colossal sweat drop at their behavior.

"It's perfectly alright. Thank you for notifying me. I'll go meet them to…"

"You should stay and rest. I will escort them here!" Sentarou enthusiastically shot to his feet ready to complete the task he volunteered for.

"No that's ok…" Ukitake was interrupted a second time.

"Please taichou give **me** this assignment, for I will insure that it will be done as soon as possible." Kiyone's grin was so huge it threatened to split her face in half, although Ukitake did not miss the scalding glare she sent in Sentarou's direction.

With a sigh he consented to their requests by nodding. Within the blink of an eye the two disappeared and moved like bullets to the gate, much in the same manner as they did before when they were headed to Ukitake's room. Ukitake just shook his head in amusement at the two.

-Back at the gate-

"Whew! Can you believe we're back already? Three months felt like no time at all!" Daisuke said with his patented smirk once he stepped through the gates with his family in tow.

"We know what you mean." a new voice startled them

"Whoa! My goodness! I almost didn't recognize your voice! How's it hangin' Sentarou?" Daisuke said with an energetic smile. Hinata and Mitsurugi just looked on in wonder as their brother continued his friendly banter with his comrades.

"Why are you asking that baka anything? If you want any real answers you'd ask me." Kiyone told him casually.

"Aww, I'm sorry Kiyone-chan, I forgot. But you're looking as good as ever." He winked flirtatiously at her, which in turn made her blush and smack him playfully on the arm.

"Anyways," Sentarou cleared his throat, "let's get you three over to see the captain."

"Right. That's why we're here. Let's go." Kiyone declared grabbing Daisuke's hand and dragging him off to see Ukitake. Sentarou and the kids just sweat dropped at Kiyone's forgetfulness.

"She totally left us didn't she?" Hinata stated more than asked

"Yep." Sentarou responded all the same

"Is she always like this?" Mitsurugi questioned with a raised brow

"More or less, only when there's a 'hot'," and Sentarou made quotation signs with his fingers at the word hot, "guy around to make her lose her mind." That answer only made the 2 siblings' sweat drops grow larger. "She was never right in the head if you ask me." Sentarou muttered quietly under his breath. "Well then, let's get going." Sentarou began leading them back to the 13th division.

-At Division 13-

"Hello." Ukitake greeted with a smile once everyone, and I mean everyone, was standing before him. "It's great to see you again. I'm Ukitake Juushiro, if you weren't told beforehand. It's a pleasure." He addressed the two kids kindly with his friendly smile present.

"It's so cool to finally meet aniki's captain!" Mitsurugi yelled out excitedly and instantly went to shake Ukitake's hand.

"Hi." Hinata greeted with a VERY shy smile and blush. Daisuke just chuckled at their behavior. 'That's SO like them.' Sentarou smiled and Kiyone gushed at their adorableness, especially Hinata's.

"Aww! She's so innocent and cute!" Kiyone swooped her up in a bone-crushing hug and nuzzled her in much the same manner a young girl would nuzzle her favorite plushie. "Can we keep her?" She asked with glimmering eyes. Everyone eyed the pair with mirth while Hinata just blushed a deeper shade of crimson.

"Put her down Kiyone. We've got important business with these kids." Sentarou told her seriously to remind her of what's going on.

"Yeah. Drop my imouto already. You can hug her all you want after everything's done." Daisuke chortled with a smile.

"Oh alright." She pouted playfully while placing Hinata on her feet with a ruffle of her hair.

"Okay. So to get back to the matter at hand. I can assume that you two know why you are here, correct?" Ukitake eyed the youngest people present in the room.

"Hai." they both answered

"Good. Then I don't have to explain the purpose of these tests. Are you prepared?"

"Hai Ukitake-taichou!" they answered in unison once again

"Then let's do this!" Daisuke said anxious to see how well they do

The young shinigami hopefuls were going to be put to the test.

* * *

A/N: Hot damn! That's a ton of typing! I suppose that's what I get for not writing in so long. But here's the latest installment for those who actually read my story. Hopefully this long chapter can hold you guys over until I find the time to put out another one. Until then just read and enjoy it. Oh yeah and don't forget to tell me what you think of it. Laterz!


	6. Making the Grade

-Chapter 6: Making the Grade-

The two youngsters lay on their backs on the ground breathing harshly trying to get the air back in their lungs. Staring at the sky, both siblings had silly, exhausted grins on their faces. They had just gone through perhaps the most excruciating test they've ever had, but the results left them very satisfied and proud of themselves.

"Way to go!" Daisuke called out to them as he clapped, "You kicked major ass!" They all began to laugh, especially the two test-takers despite their fatigue, in happiness and relief.

"Whew! Thanks nii-san," Hinata spoke once her breathing regulated properly again.

"Yeah, thanks." Mitsurugi wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Alright kiddies! You stay and rest and I'll go get the final scores. Just so you know, your results are more than likely amazing," Daisuke told them as he left to get their grades. The two of them struggled to sit up but they managed.

"You think we passed?" Hinata asked as she turned to face her other 'brother'.

"Definitely!" Mitsurugi told her, "I think we passed for sure!"

At the same moment he finished his statement Ukitake and the others stepped out to talk to them.

"Wow. I must say you shocked me thoroughly with your knowledge and skill level. Daisuke really trained you well." Ukitake smiled at them, "Although I am surprised you were able to do things most beginners aren't able to do."

"Yeah they really made us sweat!" Kiyone said referring to the last part of their test.

"I've never seen kids this good since Hitsugaya." Sentarou pointed out, "They're prodigies!"

"Damn right they are!" Daisuke flashed them a proud grin.

"Now, do you want to know your written test scores first or the practical test results?"

"We want the practical first." They answered in unison. When they were asked that question, which by the way was a no-brainer for them, they remembered when they first began their examination.

_-Flashback-_

"_Hey you two!" Daisuke called out to them before they could follow Ukitake. "You're gonna do fine so don't sweat it! I'll see you when you finish. Good luck!"_

"_Thanks." They both answered and then hurried after the kind, silver-haired captain. Ukitake led them into a vacant room with two desks in it. Once they were seated, he told them what they were to do._

"_Alright! For the first half of the test you're going to have to answer these questions within the time span of about two-hours." He then dropped two **extremely thick**__ copies of a written exam on their desks. The test packets made loud thuds and shook the desks as they landed._

_Mitsurugi's eyes went as wide as saucers at the sight of those mammoth exam packets. "What the… what… what is this?!" He practically screamed in terror, while Hinata eyed hers warily as if it would try and swallow her whole._

"_These would be your tests. Now I suggest you get ready because I'm about to start the clock. Remember you have two hours to do this. Good luck!" He told them with a cheerful smile. "Ready?" They nodded seriously then looked determinedly at the beasts the captain calls their written exam. "Begin." Then Ukitake exited the room._

_Walking down the hall, Ukitake saw Daisuke standing against a wall adjacent to the room where his 'siblings' were taking their test. With a chuckle Daisuke spoke to Ukitake. "I heard my baby brother yell. What test did you give them?"_

_Laughing a bit himself as he remembered the kids' reactions to the test, Ukitake answered, "I gave them the new entry exam to gauge how well they do against those who are actually trying to enter the academy for their first year. I don't think they were expecting a test that size. Little Hinata looked at hers as if it would grow claws and attack her and I was afraid you brother would faint since he yelled the way he did. He looked ready to have a panic attack." Both men shared a good laugh at that and continued chatting as they walked down the hall together. They would both return after the two hours were up._

_-2 hours later-_

"_Okay! Time's up!" Daisuke announced as he stepped into the room, he was followed in by Ukitake, Sentarou, and Kiyone._

"_Oh my great Kami! That test was long!" Mitsurugi exclaimed as he massaged his right hand. "I think my writing hand has a cramp."_

"_I know what you mean." Hinata muttered as she grimaced from all of her writing. She winced when she popped all five of her knuckles just by balling and un-balling her fist. 'I hope I don't get carpel tunnel. Is it possible to get arthritis after two hours of non-stop writing?' She thought bemusedly._

"_You think you did a lot of writing? Try handling out paperwork for a day. Then you can complain to me." Sentarou said as he thought about his paperwork in his office._

"_Yeah. Well, whatever. Listen up. You guys will have a short break in between this test and the next, so go stretch your legs and what not until we come get you for the next part." Kiyone gave them the go-ahead._

"_Alright. See ya later aniki, everybody. C'mon sis; let's go." Mitsurugi grabbed Hinata and bolted out the door for some fresh air and freedom before anyone could blink._

"_Well, I'll go get these to the scoring committee so they can process their grades." Daisuke said as he grabbed the monster test booklets and flash-stepped out of the door._

"_Come Kiyone, Sentarou. We'll give them 30 minutes before beginning the last half of the evaluation." Ukitake headed to the training field near the 13th__ Division shrine. He had to make sure everything was completely ready for the final half of the test._

_-30 minutes later-_

"_Okay you two, are you ready for the practical half of the exam?" Ukitake questioned them both casually._

"_Hai."_

"_Well the practical consists of two parts. The first is a simulation that we use to determine how skilled each officer is in terms of rank and the second will be a battle between you guys and my third seats," the sickly captain explained to them with a smile._

"_Wait… so the first part is a ranking test?" Mitsurugi was shocked to find out that they'd be tested like division shinigami would be to get a seated officer rank. Ukitake nodded to confirm this, which surprised Hinata as well when she realized this._

"_So are you ready for the first half?" Ukitake still had his kind smile on his face._

"_Yeah!" Mitsurugi never was one to dwell on things for too long._

"_Yes sir." Her brother's enthusiasm always managed to give her more confidence._

"_Well follow me this way then. You both remember that this part is a kind-of obstacle course, right?"_

"_Mhm. Is it like the type those military guys go through in the human world?" Mitsurugi was always curious about the things he's heard and read of the transitory world._

"_No… not quite… actually, not at all. You'll see when you get there, now please hurry this way."_

_The two kids followed him to the training grounds behind the division shrine. The training area was basically barren rocky grounds inside of a large depression, but it would serve the purpose of housing the test these children would be put through. The only fact is… that's not what Hinata and Mitsurugi see. Instead of seeing the actual grounds for what they are they see a carefully constructed illusion that makes the area look like the surrounding forests of the 13__th__ division, courtesy of a couple of members of the 2__nd__ division. It sort of reminded them of their time spent training with Daisuke in the real world._

"_This is the place." Ukitake stopped in front of the training area before turning to face the two testers. "Here is where we'll grade your overall performance in the field." He started to explain before erupting in a coughing fit. Daisuke stepped up to fully explain the test for his captain while the two third seats worried about their beloved leader._

"_For this part of the test both of you will be on a team together and you'll be wearing these." He handed them both white armbands to put on their right arms. "It's so you know what team you're on. Now the goal of this exam is for you two to take down six hollows within an hour, if you don't do it in that time frame you automatically fail, no exceptions. There will be three teams of 2 'hollows' for you to defeat. Come on out people!" He called into the air. Within a few moments six more shinigami appeared albeit they wore slightly different uniforms. "Meet your hollows!" Daisuke said with a grin._

"_What?" Mitsurugi interrupted him before he could continue the explanation._

"_These. Are. The. Hollows." Daisuke said slowly, punctuating the words while waving to the other shinigami standing behind him._

"_Sure don't look like it to me." Mitsurugi muttered under his breath, which, unfortunately for him, his brother heard. Hinata just shook her head at him._

_Daisuke clouted his little brother on the head and shot him a glare to shut up his grumbling before continuing in his happy mood as if nothing happened. "As I was saying… the six officers behind me will be playing the parts of the hollows in this little simulation. Team 1, please step forward and introduce yourselves!"_

_The first pair of shinigami wore the typical black shihakusho and had their zanpakuto strapped to their waists. They both had red armbands on their left biceps and their division badges on their right. They were from the 11__th__ division and had cocky smirks on their faces._

"_Yo!" The taller of the two raised his hand at them in a lazy wave._

"_Hey brats!" This one inclined his head in a nod at them with a grin for a greeting._

"_I already don't like 'em." Mitsurugi mumbled once he heard the brat comment. Hinata giggled at him._

"_Next up is team 2, the blue team!" Daisuke called out in a silly announcer voice and a fake microphone in his hand with a blue and gold star background behind him._

"_Is that a…" Mitsurugi started._

"… _fake background?" Hinata finished in disbelief. 'Great and I thought I got away from all of that when I left Konoha. I hope he doesn't like to wear green spandex.' She shuddered in fear and disgust._

"_How'd he do that?" The tall member of group one whispered to his partner. The guy scratched the top of his head then shrugged in response._

"_Uh right… Anyways (how awkward) we wish you good luck." The older female of the team said with a bow. They wore the standard women's outfit with blue armbands and their division insignia on their other arms. They were from the 8__th__ Division. Both children returned the bow with smiles of gratitude on their faces._

"_Thank you." Hinata replied politely causing the women to smile._

"_And finally, the last but not least, the green team! Team 3, step up!" Daisuke said with a goofy smile as he heard the guy of the team mumble embarrassedly as his female companion rolled her eyes. Mitsurugi snickered at them while Hinata hid an amused smile behind her hand._

_This team doesn't wear your average shinigami garb; instead they're decked out in the division 2 special forces uniform, mask and all. This team was silent in their greeting choosing to acknowledge the kids with a friendly (depends on how you look at it) glare and a slight nod of their heads._

"_Ok… alright let me explain what's going to happen now. The red team is hollows you'll have to take out with strictly zanjutsu. Blue team needs to go down by kidou only and the green squad is solely hakuda. If you use any other techniques than the ones specified for that team you're disqualified 'cause it's cheating, got it?" Both nodded their heads in understanding. "Oh and here's the twist… you gotta compete against a second shinigami team. That team will wear black armbands like this one." Daisuke pointed at the one on his own arm._

"_Wait! You're in this?!" Mitsurugi shouted in horror while pointing at his older sibling._

"_Yes. Is that a problem?" Daisuke asked in a seriously non-threatening way… that's a total lie._

_Mitsurugi gulped in fear while furiously shaking his head. "N-n-not at all!" He yelled with false cheer causing the other shinigami present to snicker quietly at the pair's antics._

"_Um… nii-sama?" Hinata asked meekly._

"_Hmm?"_

"_Who's your partner?"_

"_Heh… I thought you didn't notice." 'Damn I was hoping she wouldn't. Now the surprise is ruined… well kinda.' "He's over there. Hey! Get your lazy as over here so we can start!" Daisuke commanded his teammate, that was from the 10__th__. The guy just grumbled quietly as he took his time walking over. "Thanks for taking forever. Ok… are we ready?" Getting nods from everyone they turned to face the forest entrance before a recently recovered Ukitake halted their departure._

"_Just a minute. -cough- I want you two to know that the second shinigami team is a neutral team, meaning they can either work with you or against you. They can either be enemies that compete against you or allies that work with you. In the end you two just have to out score them. The team with the most victories wins. Any questions?"_

"_What if there's a tie?" Mitsurugi wanted to be prepared for anything._

"_Trust me, there won't be." Daisuke ruffled his brother's hair._

"_Okay if that's all…"_

"_Um… excuse me…" Hinata quietly cut off the captain._

"_Yes?"_

"_How do we know if we took down the hollow team?"_

_Daisuke slapped his forehead at his own forgetfulness. "I knew I forgot something." He whispered embarrassedly. Ukitake just grinned._

"_You either knock 'em out, take their bands, or get them to surrender and it's the same vice versa," Daisuke told her._

"_Like that'll ever happen." The pair from the 11__th__ chuckled quietly… or so they thought._

"_Yeah, the little brats don't stand a chance." The shorter of the two snorted hilariously._

"_I'm so gonna beat their asses when this starts." Mitsurugi glowered at them for their comments._

_Hinata grabbed the sleeve of his shihakusho to get his attention. Once she had it she shook her head calmly as the blank expression told nothing and her eyes promised all… 'We'll get them; just wait for it.' He nodded inconspicuously to show he understood. Mitsurugi knew when to wait for the right moment and he would be patient. The only ones that missed the silent exchange were the soon-to-be-victims themselves._

"_Ahem!" Daisuke cleared his throat obnoxiously to get team red to shut up and if that didn't do the trick his warning glare did._

"_Well if that's it, I want the designated shinigami pairs to follow Kiyone to one side and the hollow teams follow Sentarou to the other. Remember if you don't complete the objectives within the one hour time limit you'll fail this portion of the test."_

_Once everyone was sent to their positions and ready to go Ukitake gave the signal to begin. Both sides shot off into the 'forest' as quickly as they could; after all they only had an hour to defeat each other. The hollow teams easily hid themselves within the foliage, some more efficiently than others, and then concealed their reiatsu. Now they were ready to play the waiting game._

_Shinigami duo 1: Hinata and Mitsurugi were told to stop by duo 2: Daisuke and his partner, because it was time to figure out how to take down the enemy._

_-Outside the Forest-_

_Ukitake and his two subordinates/proctors-for-the-exam were watching with interest what was going on in the illusion forest. This test would certainly prove the children's worth as potential shinigami soon enough._

_As they paid close attention to the siblings, six extra people came to stand next to the original three of the group._

"_How goes it Ukitake?" A man said lackadaisically while adjusting his straw hat._

"_Hello Shunsui, everyone." Ukitake turned to acknowledge the newcomers briefly before turning back to watch the match. "Have you come to enjoy the show as well?"_

_The others with them were: the 2__nd__, 8__th__, 10__th__, and 11__th__ division captains along with the lieutenants of the 8__th__ and 11__th__ by their sides (or in Zaraki's case, perched on his shoulder)._

"_I was wondering why you'd need four of my officers to help you Ukitake-taichou," Soifon stated placidly. Two were maintaining the illusion while the other two participated in the simulation._

"_Yeah, why'd you need my girls hmm?" Kyoraku just grinned lazily at him but Juushiro didn't miss the suggestive tone of the question. It made him chuckle lightly; same old Shunsui. Nanao politely walloped her captain with her book._

"_I figured there'd be a good fight since you asked for 2 of my idiots to come over." Zaraki scratched his exposed chest through his uniform lazily while Yachiru giggled from her position on his back._

_Ukitake chuckled before answering them. "No it's nothing like that Zaraki. I just needed their assistance in testing some possible new cadets; that's all."_

"_New cadets? As in academy cadets? Why are __**you**__ testing them?" Hitsugaya spoke up, voicing everyone's confusion._

"_I'll explain everything once the simulation is over but only if they perform to my expectations. Maybe once you see what I do all of you could help me discuss this with Genryuusai-dono." That statement shocked and bewildered them more. He wanted to talk to the captain-commander about this? Everyone present returned their attention to the view below._

_-Within the Forest-_

"_Okay we need a plan of attack. We can't go running around here blindly." Daisuke spoke with an air of certainty. "I think we should stay together as a group--"_

"_We should separate into two teams." Mitsurugi stated authoritatively, "I'll pair up with one of you guys and imouto-chan can team up with the other."_

"_Why should we split the teams?" Daisuke asked in confusion but smiled inwardly because Mitsurugi was showing signs of good leadership by taking charge with a plan._

"_Because with our tracking abilities we can find the enemy faster. By splitting up we can cover more ground quicker." Mitsurugi ticked off his points on his hand while referring to his and Hinata's tracking skills._

"_I'm not gonna get told what to do by some snotty lil' kid," Daisuke's teammate said before beginning to walk off. "I'll be fine on my own. I don't need help. I can take down the others by myself and wipe the floor with the rest of you so I'm outta here." He flashed away before anyone could retort. That just pissed everyone off._

"_Why that…" Mitsurugi balled his fists angrily._

"_What a jackass," Daisuke deadpanned while shaking his head. "That's why he won't pass this test."_

"_Huh?" Both children looked confused at that._

"_This is as much a test for him as it is for you that's why I'm also part of it. I have to keep an eye out for all three of you. The only difference is this counts for his rank and placement when he transfers to the 13__th__, but that doesn't matter right now."_

"_He's right. We need to do this as a team." Mitsurugi got nods from the other two with him._

"_Yeah, so I'll go get him to come back," Daisuke said before flashing after his wayward partner._

"_I guess it's just you and me, imouto." Hinata nodded before talking._

"_I suggest we get moving towards the northwest because I felt a pulse in that direction. Put your spirit barrier up and stay on the look out. We'll need one-hundred percent concentration."_

"_Right." Mitsurugi nodded as both placed barriers around themselves before dashing off to that direction._

_-With the Captains-_

"_Did you just see what those two did?" Sentarou asked in shock while the others were wide-eyed. The only ones that didn't seem to notice or care were Zaraki and Yachiru._

"_What? What did they do? What just happened?" Zaraki scratched his head bemusedly._

"_They used an unknown kidou on themselves," Soifon said quietly as she continued to watch._

"_I wonder what it does." Shunsui smirked while his lieutenant studied the children calculatingly._

"_Well they certainly seem to be earning some good points." Ukitake smiled._

_-Back to the Forest-_

_The siblings were moving quickly and cautiously through the woods as they leapt from tree branch to tree branch. Hinata kept a silent vigil of the area ahead while Mitsurugi focused on all the nearby trees hoping to spot 'the enemy'. They both stopped when they detected nearby movement. It would seem strange to others that they stopped when the opposing team was completely out of their sensing range… or so they thought._

_Their spirit barriers double as not only a shield, although it's very weak, but also as a sensor that extends their detection range and upgrades their tracking abilities. Should a foreign reiatsu be nearby it'll 'bump' against the barrier, allowing them to pinpoint the location faster and before the target senses them, giving them the advantage and element-of-surprise. It's also a scrambler of sorts making it harder for the target(s) to feel them coming. They may be able to sense their reiatsu, but because the reishi (spirit particles) in the air gets circulated in with their reiatsu the enemy can't pinpoint their location properly before it's too late. It's in the shape of a dome around their bodies that extends further out by about 30 meters. Unfortunately it takes a lot of focus to maintain since it's a fairly new technique that hasn't been mastered yet. They got the idea from one of their many training sessions over their three month stint in the mortal world. When Hinata was talking a little about the Hyuga techniques she knew of the kaiten (heavenly rotation) came up and they based this kidou off of that, making it strictly a defensive technique._

_They huddled closer together and crouched low on the ground as they stared in the direction of the energy signature. Without warning the two siblings flash-stepped toward their target. It was the blue team who were shocked to see that they'd been found so quickly. Before they could defend themselves Hinata and Mitsurugi already called out their kidou spells._

"_Bakudo 4... Hainawa (crawling rope)!"_

_Mitsurugi had his palm facing the unsuspecting pair and a golden rope of energy wrapped around them quickly trapping them. However, these ladies weren't part of division eight for nothing. The two kidou specialists were already breaking the rope down despite Mitsurugi's efforts to hold it up and keep them from countering. He could only hope Hinata was ready to cast her spell. Just as they were about to break free from it, Hinata launched her kidou._

"_Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your throat! Bakudo number 9: geki (strike)!"_

_The two females were engulfed in red light and were paralyzed completely before they could make their escape from Mitsurugi's low level bakudo. Hinata was panting lightly from the rush of energy used to hold two targets simultaneously. Her efforts weren't in vain because immediately after locking the other girls down, Mitsurugi grabbed their armbands knocking them out of the match. Hinata dropped the spell soon after._

"_You've just been cleansed," Mitsurugi said gleefully before he and Hinata flashed away. "One team down, two more to go!" Hinata couldn't help but smile and agree with an elated nod. Maybe they won't do so badly after all._

_-With the Observers-_

"_Looks like they're pretty good with the basic kidou," Sentarou stated calmly._

"_And they managed to sneak up on their opponents with decent flash steps," Kiyone added._

"_Hmm… Daisuke really did a great job handling them." Ukitake hummed while rubbing his chin in thought._

"_For new cadets they sure are advanced. You don't start learning basic spells and shunpo until what was it… third year in the academy?" Shunsui said absently while submerged in thought._

"_Second year, taichou," Nanao corrected him quietly although you couldn't miss the annoyance at her captain's forgetfulness in her voice._

"_Hmm, and that barrier spell seems to have multiple uses," Hitsugaya mentioned._

"_It seems to double as a sensor and a blocker at the same time, since it would seem Kyoraku-taichou's subordinates couldn't sense them and thus were caught off guard," Soifon analyzed it accurately._

"_And perhaps it is a weak defense against low level kidou," Nanao suggested thoughtfully. "However, that remains to be seen."_

"_It's a nifty trick I guess." Zaraki didn't care either which way 'cause if they were strong he'd find 'em despite that barrier so he could fight them._

"_Hmm… it's ingenious," Soifon concluded, which could only mean good things for the test takers._

_-With the Performers-_

_As the two smiling contestants moved about quickly to the north-eastern end of the training grounds other things were going on that were vital to their success. Towards the other side of the northern boundary was the black team… well half of the black team, engaged in combat with a member of the red squad._

"_That all you got?" The fighter from team red taunted as he clashed with the arrogant jerk of the black team._

"_Hurry up! I wanna go eat," The second, taller member of the red pair whined before yawning in boredom._

"_Shut up!" The hotheaded partner of Daisuke shouted at him before he swung his blade once more. Too bad it was blocked yet again with an ease that further aggravated him. But he managed to think clearly enough to form a quick and simple plan; it would be easy to execute._

"_If this is your best then I'm through with you," His current opponent said before preparing to finish him. However, before he could, the guy from team black dashed toward the unsuspecting partner of his enemy. Before he realized what hit him he was knocked unconscious by the guy and had his red armband snatched away._

"_Too easy." He smirked whiled holding the red band up like a trophy. He looked over at his shocked opponent with satisfaction all over his features. "One down and one to go."_

_The guy simply grinned before saying, "Don't get too cocky punk. I'm not stupid like my buddy is. I'll make you pay for that dirty trick."_

_Daisuke's partner just shrugged smugly before settling into a loose stance. "Then do it ya numbskull," He goaded the eleventh division shinigami._

_Daisuke, who was sitting near a tree watching the whole event unfold, only shook his head and uttered, "Idiot. It's over now." He sighed when his partner was promptly handed his ass then flashed away to the southern end to meet with the green team. He had to put his plan into action now._

_As soon as he left his 'siblings' arrived to see Daisuke's partner on the ground, face down and out cold. Sitting on top of his back was the final member of the red team. All they could think was, 'Not good,' and 'Where the hell is Daisuke?'_

"_Well look at what the cat dragged in. Hey ya brats!" He smirked at the shocked kids. Mitsurugi's eye immediately started twitching._

_Hinata grabbed her brother before he could lunge wildly at the guy. "We need a plan. We can't just attack him blindly," she hissed. That seemed to remove the angry, red veil over the young Watanabe's eyes. The Hyuga let go of his arm when she noticed he was calm._

"_Right." He could only agree and listen as his 'sister' took control this time._

"_We have to get Daisuke's teammate out of the way first and then get that guy's sword before grabbing his armband," she whispered so only he could hear._

"_Sounds easy enough although one of us has to distract him." Hinata gave Mitsurugi a look. "I take it that'll be me, right?" She nodded._

"_I figured you'd want to do that since you're so eager to fight him. Besides once everything is clear __**we**__ can take him out. Don't engage him until I get the baka out of the way, okay?"_

"_I got it." With a nod to each other both turned to face the 'hollow'._

"_You guys done now?" The only stared at him. "It's about friggin' time! I was gettin' bored here! So which of you brats wants to lose first? Or maybe both of you want to go down at the same time?"_

"_Shut up shorty," Mitsurugi quipped. "I'll take you on."_

"_Heh heh alright runt, let's go!" Without any warning he launched himself at the two kids with a speed they weren't expecting. However, they weren't trained for three months for nothing. They used their shunpo skills to the best of their abilities easily avoiding his attack._

_Hinata quickly went to help the unconscious shinigami out of the way and see if she could wake him up. They never said it was against the rules to aid the competition. Using a basic healing kidou the guy came to immediately. She scanned him swiftly before checking on Mitsurugi. As far as she could tell, he was doing fine, seeing as though that guy can't catch her brother. Hinata turned back to the idiot that insulted her brothers and herself earlier._

"_Are you alright?" Her voice was low but firm. His attention instantly snapped to her._

"_Yeah," he responded quietly. He knew she helped him despite him being an ass in the beginning._

"_What happened here?" She looked at him expectantly._

"_I knocked his partner out and then he beat me," he said scornfully, looking shamefully at the rips and stains in his tattered clothing. "My partner didn't even back me up."_

_Hinata didn't voice the fact that he deserved the treatment he got for his behavior from before. Instead she changed the subject. "Hmm… would you like to get back at him?" Hinata asked innocently as she calmly stood up and offered her hand to him. The man stared at her bewildered._

"_But I'm your competition."_

"_Sort of and so is Daisuke-niisan; however, they said we could work together to the defeat the hollow packs, like __**true shinigami**__ do despite their differences. So you don't have to be my enemy you know." He thought about her words for a moment before accepting her offer._

"_Here's what we need to do…" and she laid out the plan before dashing off to get her brother. When she met up with Mitsurugi, with one glance at her he knew… it was time. Mitsurugi drew his blade with a flourish before going in for a head-on attack. He clashed swords with the enemy before grinning arrogantly at him._

"_You're from the eleventh?" He asked the shinigami in disbelief. The man grunted in reply. "Sure had me fooled. You're way weaker than I thought. Guess you ain't as badass as people make you guys out to be, eh?" He smirked before ducking the enraged man's swipe at his neck. He slashed at the guy's midsection in retaliation, forcing him to leap back to safety, but not before it tore into his shihakusho._

"_Damn it, you're gonna pay for that brat!" He growled as he eyed his ripped clothing._

'_This kid's better than I gave him credit for. Heh, he might be something worth remembering one day.' He smirked ruefully at this thought. He was forced out of his quiet musings when he saw Mitsurugi come flying in with his sword poised above his head ready for a downward slash. The guy barely had enough time to put up his own sword in defense. There was a loud clang as Mitsurugi's blade crashed down on to his opponent's. The force pushed the guy down to one knee before he dodged backwards to make some space between them._

"_You gotta pay attention! I almost split you in half, shorty!" Mitsurugi panted from the effort as sweat trickled lightly down the side of his face._

"_Tired already punk? Then I might as well finish you off." He too panted, albeit lighter than Mitsurugi. Just as he got ready to make his move Hinata came from seemingly nowhere and disarmed the startled guy. The man was even more caught off guard when Daisuke's partner slammed the flat of his blade into the side of his face, knocking him out cold. Mitsurugi and Hinata sheathed their zanpakuto as Daisuke's partner calmly snatched the other man's armband._

"_You did a good job distracting him," Hinata said casually. "But I knew you would." Mitsurugi raised his head in mock conceitedness making Hinata giggle and Daisuke's partner snort in amusement._

"_Well, let's go get the last group and call it a day." The boys were already walking away._

"_Wait." Hinata asked quietly, "How much time is left?" No one really cared to keep track of the hour long time limit they had, but they needed to know how long until Ukitake said it's over._

"_I'd say half-an-hour, give or take a few minutes." Daisuke's teammate slung his weapon over his shoulder nonchalantly before walking off in the direction of the traces of reiatsu his partner left behind._

"_Hey wait up!" Mitsurugi called out before running after the guy. Hinata calmly moved to catch up with him while pondering the last leg of the test._

_The three of them ended up at the southern end of 'the forest' when they lost Daisuke's reiatsu signature. Hinata, Mitsurugi, and the tag-along (Daisuke's teammate) immediately cloaked their own reiryoku (A/N: spirit energy) before moving toward the unknown. This last hollow team's expertise lied in their ability to hide their presence._

_Then she felt it and stopped completely in her tracks. The hairs on the back of Hinata's neck rose in hushed alarm, warning her of a threatening presence. She __**knew**__ exactly where they were despite the lack of energy to follow. It was their auras that gave them away, changing the feel of the air around them. It would seem her perceptive nature developed as a ninja-hopeful stuck with her._

_She briefly wondered if she'd be able to use Byakugan the same way it's used back in Konoha to see and sense pure spiritual energy instead of chakra before filing it away to try out at a later date._

_Hinata looked at her companions meaningfully before stealthily letting them know what direction their enemy was in with her eyes. Both males flash-stepped to that area, swiftly and without hesitation or doubt._

_The green squad was found and caught by surprise._

_-With the Watchers-_

"_Those two are the best at hiding themselves among my upper-level subordinates." Soifon's brow furrowed in concentration. "Only someone with training similar to those under my command would be able to locate them."_

"_What are you implying?" Hitsugaya asked, not seeing where this was going._

_She responded, referring to the girl, "I'm saying that child could've been in training to be an assassin or spy like the majority of the Onmitsukidou." That statement shocked all of those present to hear it._

"_These kids get more interestin' by the second," Zaraki muttered as he eyed them with intent. The others couldn't help but agree._

_-Back with the Contestants-_

_One second they were laying in wait to strike the team of shinigami and the next, two of them were right in their faces launching a barrage of kicks and punches. The 'green hollows' were astonished by the skill level of the boys; they didn't think anyone outside of their division were even half as decent at hakuda as they were. But here they were being kept on their toes by an arrogant ass and a little kid… granted they haven't gone beyond novice-level hakuda yet, but still, they were impressed. Deciding enough was enough, both 'hollows' began fighting back with a higher caliber and intensity that their enemies lacked in their attack. Apparently even now their foes are very capable of keeping up with them._

_Hinata sat back and observed her teammates battle it out with the last hollow team while wondering about her nii-sama. She knew he hadn't been eliminated as of yet and could only guess as to where he'd be. She also mused over why he didn't help his teammate out because she knew he was the type of guy who wouldn't let grudges get in the way of duty or protecting comrades. He stressed that point to Mitsurugi and herself during their training. She immediately snapped back into awareness when she saw the third member of their impromptu team get his arms locked behind his back in the same manner as someone forced under the influence of bakudo spell number one (she and Mitsurugi know that from firsthand experience). Instantly, she began scanning for Daisuke, realizing that the hollow teams have to follow the same rules that the shinigami do in this simulation._

'_So he's a traitor it seems,' she thought placidly with a calculating indifference. 'He'll have to be dealt with after the hakuda specialists.'_

_Hinata quickly leapt into the trees to conceal herself as she watched the tag-along get his black band taken from him and then be rendered unconscious by his opponent. She took note of the fact that they were working together to bring the test takers down. It would only be a matter of time before Mitsurugi was taken down next._

_Her pale eyes roved over the battlefield for any signs of Daisuke before spotting him hidden within the foliage. He was preparing to use another spell to take out Mitsurugi before Hinata launched hadou spell number 4: byakurai (white lightning) at him, catching everyone's attention. Daisuke expectedly evaded the attack, but Hinata didn't lose sight of him and she went after him, leaving Mitsurugi with two hakuda experts to deal with._

_-With Mitsurugi-_

"_Shit," Mitsurugi cursed under his breath once he realized what happened. "Damn you aniki." He smirked bitterly because he knew Daisuke wanted to split his team up so it would be easier to eliminate them. The only thing Daisuke forgot to take into consideration was his little brother's determination; he wouldn't lose here, not when he's so close to his goal._

'_Time to improvise,' he thought confidently as he took advantage of the moment of distraction caused by the use of Hinata's kidou and disappeared into the trees._

_By the time the two members of the green squad turned back to defeat the boy, he was already gone. They were shocked because they didn't look away for more than a second, so why couldn't they sense him at all?_

"_Damn that boy! This can't be good," the man murmured under his breath._

"_We should fan out to look for him. If we find him, take him down," the woman told him calmly while ignoring his not-so-quiet gripe._

"_Aren't you underestimating the boy just a little?"_

"_No." She walked off in the opposite direction of her partner._

_-With Hinata-_

_She knew what was going on the minute Daisuke turned rogue. She understood what was happening when he used that spell and that's why she purposefully played into his trap. She wanted to separate him from Mitsurugi because should one of them fall, they both fail._

_Hinata was perfectly aware of what Daisuke had planned when his partner told her that Daisuke wasn't around to help him fight. In her mind, it added up to this: Daisuke betrays them, then goes to the enemy for help; the best way to defeat Mitsurugi and herself is to break them apart, so he'll need to separate them and they'll go down one-by-one. Those shinigami officers may outclass them each individually __**but**__ they can't totally outshine both children together, so the separation is a must, as common sense dictates._

_However, Hinata didn't know __**how**__ he'd go about doing that so she had to sit back and wait, and sure enough he showed himself. By interfering directly she could go after him __**away from**__ the others, although by waiting for him to make his move she would, unfortunately or not so unfortunately (depends on how you look at it), have to sacrifice their third teammate. Ah, the beauty of war tactics: it all lies in complexity and execution._

_Now she's simply chasing him while remaining out of his visual perception range. As long as he can't see her, he can't fight her. She doesn't plan on battling him one-on-one (Kami knows how that would turn out), she just needs to buy time for her teammate. As soon as he engages the hollow team she'll double back, since she and Daisuke are well out of range of that battle now._

_When she felt Mitsurugi get away to safety she immediately used her reiatsu cloak to completely 'disappear' on Daisuke; now he can't sense her at all. While he's at a loss in trying to find her she's heading back to help Mitsurugi take out the last hollow team so they can beat Daisuke together because there's no way she can do it alone._

_-With the Captains-_

"_Hmm… clever girl," Shunsui spoke suddenly with a smile. Nanao nodded quietly as Juushiro smiled broadly. The captains (except for Zaraki and his lieutenant, since they don't really care either way) and Nanao caught on to Hinata's strategy._

"_These children are very skilled. Where did they come from?" Soifon eyed them appraisingly. Ukitake's grin faltered just slightly before he answered. No one really took notice to the fact that it did._

"_The 75__th__ District of Rukongai." 'Well it's true… for the most part,' he added silently in his mind._

"_I'm really impressed," Hitsugaya commented, doling out very rare compliments._

"_Yes, well so am I. Kiyone, Sentarou…"_

"_Yes Ukitake-taichou!" They were bowed before him immediately._

"_Go switch with Daisuke. We'll combine both parts from here."_

"_Yes sir!" They disappeared with the wind._

_-Back on the Field-_

_Mitsurugi had his barrier up as he contemplated his next move, being sure to stay out of sight as well. 'Hmm… who should I go for? I'm closer to that woman but I don't like fighting girls if I can avoid it. Guess the clod will have to do. I'll have some fun with this guy,' he thought deviously before using shunpo to go after the male of the enemy team. He appeared behind him within seconds, but instead of going for a quick and silent knockout he untied the man's sash, and then flashed away with his prize._

_The man felt a breeze as he leapt to another tree branch. Once he landed he waited to feel that zephyr again. 'Odd… I know I just felt a draft a minute ago, yet there's no wind blowing.' He scratched the top of his head in thought. Shrugging to himself, he let it go and continued his search for Mitsurugi. He took to the air again only to feel that same draft once more. 'What the hell?' This time when he landed he looked around to figure out if the kid was playing a trick on him. Then he heard the sound of low snickers behind him. Turning around he saw his prey standing there holding up his pants while trying not to laugh like a madman._

"_Nice undies," Mitsurugi pointed out the man's yellow tweety bird boxers before bursting into an uncontrollable laughing fit. Tears came to his eyes as he tried to keep his gut from busting for laughing too hard._

_The man stood completely mortified for all of two seconds (or was it two minutes?) before going red in the face from a mixture of anger and embarrassment. He ran after Mitsurugi, fueled by fury and a desire to exact painful revenge, like a bull chasing a red flag and Mitsurugi dodged him teasingly like a matador, dangling the guy's pants in his face just barely out of his reach all the while._

_-With the Captains-_

_Everyone was having laughing convulsions from watching the comical scene play out. The only exceptions were Hitsugaya: who merely smirked (he had a reputation to uphold), Nanao: who didn't find it funny at all, and Soifon: who sighed in embarrassment at the shameful spectacle before lowering and shaking her head at it all. 'So much for my squad's prestige,' she thought cynically._

_-Back with Mitsurugi-_

"_Here! Catch!"_

_Mitsurugi flung the pants at the man who dove to catch them. While the man was distracted with pulling his bottoms on, Mitsurugi rushed forward and attacked. He managed to grab the guy's armband and take his black belt in the process. After he pocketed the green band he used his opponent's sash to tie him to the tree he was standing next to, tying the knot at the back. With a cheeky wave he ran off to finish off the man's partner… that is if his sister didn't do it first._

"_Have fun with that!"_

_-With Daisuke-_

_Daisuke was on his way back to where he felt the last hollow team move when he was stopped by his superior officers._

"_Take a load off Watanabe. We'll take it from here," Sentarou told him as he placed a hand on Daisuke's shoulder._

"_Yeah, Ukitake-taichou wants you to switch places with us. He's combining our part with yours," Kiyone explained._

_Daisuke tilted his head to one side then the other feeling the tense muscles there pop with the movement. He then smiled and shrugged before saying, "Have fun and don't cut 'em any slack!" Then he shunpo'd to his comrades' former post beside their captain. He couldn't help thinking, 'This ought to be interesting. I hope those two can beat 'Tarou and Kiyo-chan within the time frame.'_

_The third seats turned to each other and grinned mischievously. They both thought simultaneously, 'This should be fun!' before silently taking off toward the location of the two kids._

_-With Hinata-_

_She had found her target moving swiftly and silently through the forest like a panther on the hunt. Too bad the panther couldn't sense its prey right behind her._

_Quietly Hinata snuck up on her and used her basic jyuuken (gentle fist) taijutsu knowledge to hit the pressure point at the nape of her neck, with a minuscule controlled amount of reiryoku channeled into the tap, to temporarily paralyze her from the neck down._

_Hinata cradled her opponent's limp body and gently set her down on the ground then took her green armband before addressing the stunned woman with the wide-eyed stare._

"_Don't worry. It's only going to last for a few minutes so it'll be over before you know it." Hinata bowed as if in thanks for receiving the armband and then dashed away to meet up with her brother._

_-With the Captains-_

"_It's as I thought," Soifon spoke lucidly. "She was trained in the art of the silent kill. She knows the body's pressure points and knew which ones to target in order to incapacitate her enemy. That girl can't be from Rukongai. No one gets trained liked that, even in the basics, outside of Seireitei simply because there aren't any possible ways to access that particular knowledge."_

"_Where is she __**really**__ from Ukitake?" Shunsui asked seriously this time as everyone's attention was on him __**and**__ Daisuke (since they remembered the mention of him being their sibling)._

"_It's a long story," Daisuke began._

"_Please wait until the examination is over then I will… we'll explain everything to you." Ukitake pushed any further questioning back until later._

_They all silently agreed to wait it out since there were only a few minutes left (no more than fifteen) anyways._

_-Back on the Field-_

_The siblings met up with each other quickly enough and were glad to see that they were successful in defeating their opponents. Both were happy to say it's more or less over; the 'hollows' have been 'cleansed' and they have the most victories compared to the other pair of shinigami, plus they did it within one hour with time to spare. However, the thought of dealing with their brother quelled any hoots for joy before they even started._

_"Should we bother with aniki at all?" Mitsurugi was reluctant to say the least._

_With a tired, frustrated sigh Hinata replied, "We should. He's the 'enemy' and it's our job to at least subdue him."_

_"Capture?"_

_"Mhm," Hinata nodded._

_"Well then let's hop to it! Then we can get a break!" Just the thought of rest was motivation enough to complete the simulation once and for all._

_"And just where do you think you're goin' gaki?" An amused deep voice rang out._

_A light, feminine chuckle resounded behind them causing the Watanabe and the Hyuga to turn around tensely and eye the newcomers with wary apprehension. They didn't like the feel of this situation._

_"Ano… is the test over?" Mitsurugi was strangely timid all of a sudden._

_"Not yet," Kiyone purred in amusement._

_'Damn, they're starting part two up kind of early aren't they?' Hinata let that question remain unspoken as her body's thoroughly worked muscles coiled in anticipation of this last obstacle. She could sense Mitsurugi doing the same. They moved closer to each other, ready to fight side by side until the end._

_Without giving any outward signs or inclinations both Sentarou and Kiyone launched themselves at the slightly startled kids, their swords raised. Instinctively, the prodigious duo blocked their powerful strikes with their own zanpakuto. However, the children weren't at their best and they were up against two third-seats. All they could hope to do was ward off the assault for now._

_The kids jumped back completely out of breath from that little skirmish. Kiyone and Sentarou grinned and prepared to attack again. Suddenly Hinata grabbed her brother's sleeve and yanked him away with her as she shunpo'd away into the cover of the forest, leaving a slightly astonished pair of third seats in her wake. She stopped when she felt they were far enough away from Kiyone and Sentarou, and then put up her barrier-cloak. Mitsurugi followed suit as they hid in the shadows of the trees._

_Trying to quiet her panting, Hinata spoke breathlessly, "There's (pant) no (pant) way we (pant) can handle this (pant) right now (pant). I'm exhausted and (pant) you look just as tired." She gulped in more air then continued, "We need a solid plan before we try to fight them." Her brother nodded avidly._

_"What do you suggest we do imouto?"_

_"I think we should separate them and then defeat them one by one. They'll be too much for us as a team."_

_"A team? They barely get along while being in the same room!" Mitsurugi stared incredulously at her._

_'Wow, who would've thought Iruka-sensei's class would come in handy **here** of all places? Ninja principle 1: Look underneath the underneath,' Hinata thought with a light chuckle._

_"Onii-chan, if that were true don't you think they'd avoid being around each other? It's a ploy to throw people off the fact that they're probably one of the best shinigami pairs in Soul Society, and they've been ranked **together** as third seats for a reason."_

_Mitsurugi's eyes showed comprehension, but he had to ask, "Both of 'em are really competitive though, so couldn't they have simply tied for third seat rank? And if that's the case then that would mean that individually they're really good 'cause they're two ranks higher than aniki."_

_"Good point. I suppose it could be a combination of both but we don't have time to figure that out. Let's go somewhere else; they're getting closer," she ended in a whisper. Stealthily they snuck away again making sure to maintain their cloaks as they spread the distance between themselves and the hunters. After running around until they felt they were safe again they stopped and decided to map out a plan._

_"I was thinking we go after Kiyone first and then Sentarou simply because Sentarou seems just a little bit more level-headed, so he'd be a little tougher to deal with."_

_"Right. I was thinking in order to break 'em apart we could use stronger kidou since that's easier to do, at least for me."_

_"Okay then I'll focus more on hakuda and hohou, since I'm stronger in that area." With that in place they took off in the direction of their opponents. When they found them they were, as usual, bickering amongst themselves. They didn't know it was to draw them out of hiding… or maybe they did?_

_"I'm telling' you they went this way!" Sentarou shouted as he pointed to the right._

_"And I'm saying they went that way!" Kiyone said equally loud while pointing to the left. They stood there glaring at each other for a moment before firing off a low-level hadou in the direction of the kids. Hinata and Mitsurugi's barriers cracked open against the force of the attack, revealing the children to the third seats._

_"Damn. I knew it," Mitsurugi muttered. Hinata sighed then shrugged as if saying 'oh well'._

_"Didn't think we'd figure out your little trick, eh?" Sentarou gloated._

_"We're third seats for a reason you know," Kiyone mentioned haughtily._

_"Actually…" Hinata began._

_"… we were counting on you to do that," Mitsurugi finished._

_"What?" The high ranked officers were confused. They never got the chance to find out because Mitsurugi aimed a kidou spell right at them._

_"Hadou number 33: soukatsui (blue fire, crash down)!" A blazing burst of blue fire sped toward Kiyone and Sentarou lightning quick, forcing them to dodge in separate directions._

_Mitsurugi was winded after casting the strongest low-level destructive spell without the incantation, but he still managed to fire a weak spell as a follow up and it was headed straight for Sentarou. "Hadou number 4: Byakurai!" A beam of white electricity smashed right into the flabbergasted man's chest. Bull's eye!_

_"Shit!" The electric volts from that bolt of lightning numbed his body and dulled his senses. Sentarou's head was spinning, eyes watering, and ears ringing from being hit dead on by the spell as his body shook from the thunder coursing through his veins. He would be out of it for a little while._

_"It worked. It actually worked," Mitsurugi stated reverently as his eyes sparkled in astonishment. It wasn't long before his astounded-state gave way to joy at his success. He hoorayed for his feat before calming down and setting up a spell to help his sister take out Kiyone._

_"Holy crap! Mitsu-kun just beat 'Tarou-chan." Kiyone's eyes went wide in shock before she realized she was in trouble. Too bad it was too late for her as well._

_Hinata was in front of her in a flash and dished out a series of forceful palm strikes to Kiyone's torso, literally knocking the air from her lungs with each hit. Before Kiyone could recover Hinata flash-stepped behind her and sent her flying through the air toward Sentarou with a strong kick to her back. Kiyone landed on top of him with a terrible pain in her chest and tears blurring her vision. It stung just to breathe and she knew she'd need more than a minute to recover._

_Six thin, wide rods of light shot toward the downed pair and pinned them securely to the ground. "Bakudo number 61: Rikujokoro (Six Rods Prison of Light)." Sweat was rolling down the side of Mitsurugi's head as he held the spell firm. Once he was sure it would hold without much added concentration he ran over to his sister. Finally they were done!_

_"Way to go imouto! Ha, ha, ha! You rocked!" Mitsurugi hefted her up into his arms and twirled her around, both of them laughing freely the entire time. Soon they grew dizzy and fell to the ground on their backs, smiling in relief. The binding spell dispersed in a flurry of glowing spirit particles soon after._

_"Alright! You're time's up!" Ukitake called to them with a smile. He looked to his fellow captains with a grin and said, "I'm going to talk to them for a moment then I will address all of your questions, unless you'd like to meet them now?"_

_"I'm sure we'll see them around much more later, so I think I'll wait," Shunsui replied with a smirk of his own. The others agreed and went inside to wait for Ukitake's return. Soon the kind captain and his fifth seat went to speak with the children._

_-End of Flashback-_

"Well for your practical results you passed with flying colors! I haven't seen anyone handle the test the way you two did just now. If you want an actual grade it's in the upper ninety percentile. Congratulations! Your brother should be back with your written scores right… about… now." As soon as he finished Daisuke appeared with a slip of paper from the scoring committee. Ukitake gave him a nod of consent before Daisuke stepped up to talk.

"What I see here ain't good. Not at all," Daisuke spoke gravely. Hinata and Mitsurugi sat up immediately at that with shocked looks.

"There's no way we failed that damn test! The writing was easier than this! We had to have passed!" Mitsurugi exclaimed incredulously before his brother could continue. Hinata was beyond worried, now thinking, 'Did we fail because of me?'

"Shut it otouto and let me finish," but he didn't. Instead, Daisuke paused dramatically.

"Well?! On with it, come on!" Mitsurugi was impatient and anxious.

"You guys did…" The captain and third seats were rapt with attention, thinking it will be hilarious. This'll be good, they could tell.

"Spit it out!" Surprisingly it came from the youngest present, Hinata.

"Amazing!" Daisuke and the others broke into peals of laughter at the sight of their faces. It was a comical mix of annoyed twitching and happy amazement. Soon Mitsurugi and Hinata settled on tackling their older sibling for the dirty trick he played on them, but the wrestling was all in fun as it turned into a three way tickle war in celebration of their success. The captain and his two rambunctious subordinates chortled at the scene in front of them.

Eventually they calmed down and Daisuke snickered one more time then told them, "Oh boy! Whew! You should've seen the looks on your faces." A vein popped on each of their foreheads in slight anger at the teasing. Daisuke ignored their killing intent. "Anyways, you both got high scores. Hinata yours was in the upper ninety percent and Mitsurugi you got a low ninety, which is far better than most of the honors students at the academy."

"Awesome!" Mitsurugi broke out into a victory dance, flashing the victory sign in triumph as his sister giggled and his brother smirked, both amused with his antics.

"Yes well congratulations again. If you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. Daisuke come with me," Ukitake ordered. They really needed to get back to the other captains to discuss what they know.

"Yes sir." Daisuke faced his siblings to say, "See you both later!" before following after his captain.

"Come on kids, let's go treat you both to something nice," Sentarou said with a smile.

"Yeah! I know this great place we can go," Kiyone mentioned before it led to an argument between her and her fellow third seat. Both youngsters followed along, enjoying the amusing bickering of their elders.


End file.
